Tag: photochemistry
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Radiation Environment of Planets: How Solar FUV Shapes Planetary Atmospheres
Understanding the Radiation Environment of Planets Planets orbiting the Sun are continually bathed in a spectrum of energy that drives atmospheric chemistry, climate, and surface conditions. Among these energies, far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation plays a pivotal role in photochemistry—the chemical reactions initiated by photons. Interpreting observations of planetary atmospheres, from Earth to distant worlds, requires a…
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Energy Radiation Environment of Planets in the Sun’s Wake
Introduction: Why Radiation Environments Matter for Planetary Atmospheres The radiation environment a planet experiences from the Sun governs atmospheric chemistry, dynamics, and evolution. Far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation, in particular, acts as a primary driver of photochemical processes that shape the composition of upper atmospheres, ionospheres, and even escape rates. To interpret observations of planetary atmospheres correctly,…