Earth, Planets and Space (May 2018)
Initiation of a lightning search using the lightning and airglow camera onboard the Venus orbiter Akatsuki
- Yukihiro Takahashi,
- Mitsuteru Sato,
- Masataka Imai,
- Ralph Lorenz,
- Yoav Yair,
- Karen Aplin,
- Georg Fischer,
- Masato Nakamura,
- Nobuaki Ishii,
- Takumi Abe,
- Takehiko Satoh,
- Takeshi Imamura,
- Chikako Hirose,
- Makoto Suzuki,
- George L. Hashimoto,
- Naru Hirata,
- Atsushi Yamazaki,
- Takao M. Sato,
- Manabu Yamada,
- Shin-ya Murakami,
- Yukio Yamamoto,
- Tetsuya Fukuhara,
- Kazunori Ogohara,
- Hiroki Ando,
- Ko-ichiro Sugiyama,
- Hiroki Kashimura,
- Shoko Ohtsuki
Affiliations
- Yukihiro Takahashi
- Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University
- Mitsuteru Sato
- Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University
- Masataka Imai
- Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University
- Ralph Lorenz
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
- Yoav Yair
- School of Sustainability, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC)
- Karen Aplin
- Physics Teaching Laboratories, Oxford University
- Georg Fischer
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences
- Masato Nakamura
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Nobuaki Ishii
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Takumi Abe
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Takehiko Satoh
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Takeshi Imamura
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo
- Chikako Hirose
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Makoto Suzuki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- George L. Hashimoto
- Department of Earth Science, Okayama University
- Naru Hirata
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Aizu
- Atsushi Yamazaki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Takao M. Sato
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Manabu Yamada
- Planetary Exploration Research Center, Chiba Institute of Technology
- Shin-ya Murakami
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Yukio Yamamoto
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Tetsuya Fukuhara
- Department of Physics, Rikkyo University
- Kazunori Ogohara
- School of Engineering, University of Shiga Prefecture
- Hiroki Ando
- Faculty of Science, Kyoto Sangyo University
- Ko-ichiro Sugiyama
- Department of Information Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Matsue College
- Hiroki Kashimura
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
- Shoko Ohtsuki
- School of Commerce, Senshu University
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-018-0836-2
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 70,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 6
Abstract
Abstract The existence of lightning discharges in the Venus atmosphere has been controversial for more than 30 years, with many positive and negative reports published. The lightning and airglow camera (LAC) onboard the Venus orbiter, Akatsuki, was designed to observe the light curve of possible flashes at a sufficiently high sampling rate to discriminate lightning from other sources and can thereby perform a more definitive search for optical emissions. Akatsuki arrived at Venus during December 2016, 5 years following its launch. The initial operations of LAC through November 2016 have included a progressive increase in the high voltage applied to the avalanche photodiode detector. LAC began lightning survey observations in December 2016. It was confirmed that the operational high voltage was achieved and that the triggering system functions correctly. LAC lightning search observations are planned to continue for several years.
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