Three-dimensional modeling of lightning-induced electromagnetic pulses on Venus, Jupiter and Saturn

Abstract

While lightning activity in Venus is still controversial, its existence in Jupiter and Saturn was first detected by the Voyager missions and later on confirmed by Cassini and New Horizons optical recordings in the case of Jupiter, and recently by Cassini on Saturn in 2009. Based on a recently developed 3D model we investigate the influence of lightning-emitted electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on the upper atmosphere of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter. We explore how different lightning properties such as total energy released and orientation (vertical, horizontal, oblique) can produce mesospheric transient optical emissions of different shapes, sizes and intensities. Moreover, we show that the relatively strong background magnetic field of Saturn can enhance the lightning-induced quasi-electrostatic and inductive electric field components above 1000 km of altitude producing stronger transient optical emissions that could be detected from orbital probes.