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Rasool, S.I., 1963: Structure of planetary atmospheres. AIAA J., 1, 6-19.
Intensified research activity in the field of planetary atmospheres during the last few years has led to a number of new results that have forced a revision of our previous understanding of the structure of the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter.
Recent measurements of the intensity of the radiation emitted by the planet Venus in the centimeter wavelength show that it corresponds to thermal radiation of temperature of ~600°K. Since radiation in the decimeter region probably passes unattenuated through the atmosphere and clouds of Venus, it generally is assumed that the measured temperature refers to the surface of the planet. Also, there is evidence that the atmosphere of Venus may not be composed predominantly of CO2, as previously estimated, but is present only as a minor constituent in a mixing ratio of 5%. The interpretation of these measurements has turned out to be one of the most interesting problems in planetary science at the present time.
It has been shown that Jupiter is the source of yet another type of intense radiation recently observed in the decimetric wavelength region. There is also an indication that the Jovian atmosphere may be predominantly helium and not hydrogen, as so far has been believed. In the case of Mars, renewed interest, both theoretical and observational, has led to revised atmospheric models. The purpose of this article is to review the properties of the atmospheres of Mars, Venus, and Jupiter in the light of the most recent observational results.
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