AN ANALYSIS OF INFRARED IMAGES OF JUPITER IMPACTED BY P/SHOEMAKER-LEVY 9

We have analyzed infrared (IR) images of Jupiter which was observed at the McDonald Observatory, Texas, U.S.A., during the P/SHoemaker-LEvy 9 (SL9) impact period and about one week after the last impact. The IR images were obtained on the 2.7m telescope using a NICMOS array with filters to isolate the $1.5{\mu}m\;NH_3\; band,\;the\;2.3{\mu}m\;CH_4\;band,\;the\;2.12{\mu}m\;H_2\;S(0)$ pressure-induced absorption, and the continua at $1.58{\mu}m\;and\;2.0{\mu}m$ (short K-band). All images except those with the $1.58{\mu}m$ continuum filter show bright impact sites against the relatively dark Jovian disk near the impact latitude of about $45^{\circ}$ S. This implies that dusts originated from the impacts reflect the solar radiation at high altitudes before absorbed by stratospheric $CH_4,\;NH_3 \;or\;H_2$. The impact sites observed with the $2.3{\mu}m$ filter are conspicuously bright against a very dark background. The morphology of impact sites, G, L, and H at 2.3 and $2.12{\mu}m$ filters shows clearly an asymmetric structure toward the incident direction of the comet fragments, in agreement with the studies of visible impact images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. Comparisons of reflectances of G, L, and H sites with simple radiative transfer models suggest that optically thick dust layers were formed at high altitudes at which methane absorption attenuates incoming sunlight only by about $1\%$. The dust layers in these sites seem to form at about the same altitude regardless of the magnitude of the impacts, but they appear to descend gradually after the impacts. The dust layers have optical depths of 2-5, according to the models.