Journal Article

Jupiter's Coordinate System Transformations: A Guide for Future Studies of the Jovian System

Kong, Dali, Wang, Yabing, Tang, Kai, Wang, Yujie

2023

Overview

The Juno mission, launched in 2011, has significantly advanced our understanding of Jupiter's gravitational field, the solar wind and interplanetary conditions along its orbit, the evolution of Jupiter's high‐latitude magnetosphere and aurorae, the dynamics of plasma and electromagnetic fields in its magnetosphere, etc. As a result, new requirements for the definition and improvement of existing coordinate systems have arisen due to engineering implementation and the understanding of various scientific questions that rely on different preferred coordinate systems. In this paper, we first review the primary Jupiter's coordinate systems, including newly defined systems, such as the Jupiter Solar MAGnetosphere (JSMAG) and Jupiter Equatorial Inertial (JEIJ2000) coordinate systems, as well as a precisely defined orthogonal Jupiter Heliospheric (JH) coordinate system. We have also improved several magnetic field‐related coordinate systems and these systems support different Jupiter magnetic field models. The angular deviation of solar position‐related coordinate systems oriented by the semi‐analytical ephemerides TOP2013 is less than 70 milliarcseconds during the time span from 1800 to 2200 year. In addition, we propose a relatively simple, fast, and accurate transformation method, addressing the complexity of traditional coordinate system transformations entirely based on rotation axes and angles. This method introduces a basic coordinate system in which the unit vectors of all coordinate axes are represented. Finally, the comparison of our calculation with the published data indicates the high efficiency and accuracy of this work, which can be used as a basic tool for future Jovian system explorations from 1800 to 2200 year. Plain Language Summary Coordinate systems and their transformations play a critical role in both engineering and scientific research. Without appropriate coordinate systems, it would be difficult to accurately design spacecraft orbits, analyze scientific data, and understand physical mechanisms in different regions. Jupiter's coordinate systems, which are typically defined using astronomical basic vectors, can be challenging for researchers without an astronomy background. Moreover, traditional and fully Euler angle‐based rotation can be cumbersome for transforming between two undirectly related coordinate systems. Therefore, the development of a comprehensive set of Jupiter's coordinate systems based on recent research findings and the proposal of a universal and efficient transformation method can greatly facilitate deep space exploration and serve as a fundamental tool for studying the Jovian system. Key Points A comprehensive overview is provided of eight primary Jupiter's coordinate systems, some of which are newly defined or updated An efficient transformation method is proposed, in which unit vectors of all coordinate axes are represented in a basic coordinate system Comparison of our results with published data shows the high efficiency and accuracy of this work as a basic tool from 1800 to 2200 year

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• Subject: Coordinate transformations / Electromagnetic fields / Jupiter / Magnetic fields / Radiation / Solar system / Sun