The brightness temperature of Saturn at decimeter wavelengths

Observations of the planet Saturn at wavelengths of 49.5 and 94.3 em are reported. The equivalent disk brightness temperatures were found to be 400 ± 65°K and 540 ± 110°K, respectively. It is suggested that the enhanced portion of the spectrum of the disk brightness temperature favours the idea that the observed long wavelength radiation comes from the planet's atmosphere.However, the possibility of a magnetic field associated with Saturn is not rejected by the observations. Part of the excess temperature could be attributed to weak synchrotron emission coming from a region outside the ring system.