Indications of supersaturated stratospheric methane in Neptune from its atmospheric thermal profile |
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| Authors: | R Courtin D Gautier A Lacombe |
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| Institution: | Laboratoire de Physique Stellaire et Planétaire, BP N° 10-91370 Verrières-le-Buisson, France;Groupe Planètes-Observatoire de Meudon-92190 Meudon, France |
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| Abstract: | An iterative inversion method is used to retrieve the thermal structure of Neptune from available infrared measurements. The most plausible thermal profile leads to an effective temperature of 58.4°K, implying the presence of an internal heat source equal to about 1.6 times the solar-absorbed power. The interpretation of Neptunian infrared measurements in the 8-μm range requires a very strong supersaturation of CH4 in the upper atmosphere of the planet. |
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