CARBON-MONOXIDE IN JUPITER AFTER COMET SHOEMAKER-LEVY-9

Observations of the carbon monoxide fundamental vibration-rotation ban d near 4.7 mu m before and after the impacts of the fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 showed no detectable changes in the R5 and R7 lines, with one possible exception, Observations of the G-impact site 21 hr after impact do not show CO emission, indicating that the heated porti ons of the stratosphere had cooled by that time, The large abundances of CO detected at the millibar pressure level by millimeter wave obser vations did not extend deeper in Jupiter's atmosphere. Predicted upwel ling of shocked, O-rich material from below also did not occur, Combin ed with evidence for upwelling of N- and S-rich gas, our observations indicate that the comet fragments may not have penetrated to the H2O c loud, We find that CO concentrations in Jupiter's stratosphere may be higher than previously suspected, suggesting that some of the CO detec ted after the impacts may already have been present in Jupiter's strat osphere. (C) 1997 Academic Press.