Long-term atmospheric variability on Uranus and Neptune |
| |
| Authors: | HB Hammel GW Lockwood |
| |
| Institution: | a Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
b Lowell Observatory, 1400 W. Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | Long-term photometric measurements of Uranus and Neptune through 2005 show variations in brightness. For Uranus, much of the variation can be interpreted as seasonal, i.e., caused by viewing angle changes of an oblate planet. The photometry suggests that if seasonal variations on Uranus are north-south symmetric, then the northern pole should begin to brighten in 2006. However, seasonal “aspect” changes cannot explain all the variation; the Uranus observations require intrinsic atmospheric change. Furthermore, Uranus observations spanning many scale heights in the atmosphere may show similar change. For Neptune, variations in sub-solar latitude may explain the general shape of the long-term light curve, but significant deviations occur that have no explanation at present. Observations are needed over a longer temporal baseline than currently exists to fully characterize both atmospheres. |
| |
| Keywords: | Uranus Neptune Uranus atmosphere Neptune atmosphere Photometry |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
