The KAO has just landed in Melbourne, Australia, after observing methane
emission from the K fragment at 7.7 microns at a resolution of 9000.
It was even more spectacular than the G fragment. At approximately 10:39 UT,
the signal soared to roughly 25 times the brightness observed 10 minutes
earlier. The fireball appeared in 2 of our spatial pixels, implying that
its spatial extent was at least 5", and possibly as large as 10".
Interestingly, we also noticed some bright spectral features which are
probably not due to methane, and are at this point unidentified.
We again observed at 22.6 and 23.9 microns to look for water vapor, but decided to wait until the fireball dimmed considerably. Data analysis is in progress on the water vapor observations, but at first glance, there was no evidence for Jovian water.
Gordon Bjoraker (NASA GSFC)
Terry Herter, Susan Stolovy, Bruce Pirger, George Gull (Cornell)