An atmospheric rotation period of Neptune determined from methane-band imaging |
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| Institution: | 1. State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China;2. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;1. Strategic Minerals Spain, S.L., P° Recoletos, 37, 28004 Madrid, Spain;2. Dept. of Geology, University of Salamanca, Plaza de los Caídos s/n, 37008 Salamanca, Spain;3. Dept. of Geological and Mining Engineering, Higher Technical School of Mines and Energy Engineering, Polytechnic University of Madrid, C/ Ríos Rosas, 21, 28003 Madrid, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Direct imaging of Neptune through an 8900-Å methane-band filter with the University of Hawaii 2.24-m telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory shows discrete atmospheric cloud features. A rotation period of 17.86 ± 0.02 hr is derived from the observations of two transits of a bright feature in the southern hemisphere during May and June 1986. This period is consistent with earlier observations of cloud motion on Neptune. The imaging also shows that bright features in Neptune's northern hemisphere seen as recently as in 1983 by earlier investigations have disappeared, markedly changing the overall distribution of reflected light from the planetary disk. |
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