Abstract
FROM observations of the occultation of the star SAO158687 by Uranus on 10 March 19771,2, we have determined the temperature structure of its upper atmosphere at two locations on the planet. These are the first temperature measurements within the 10−4–10−2 mbar range, which lies several scale heights above the region probed by IR measurements. Although this occultation was noted for the unexpected discovery of the uranian rings3–5 and ring occultations were observed by several groups6, an occultation by the planet itself was seen from only two observatories—the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) and Cape Town. Here we present the first results from the KAO data: the Cape Town results will be discussed elsewhere7.
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ELLIOT, J., DUNHAM, E. Temperature structure of the uranian upper atmosphere. Nature 279, 307–308 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/279307a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/279307a0
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Structure of the uranian upper atmosphere
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