The upper atmosphere of Uranus: A critical test of isotropic turbulence models |
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Authors: | Richard G French James L Elliot Bruno Sicardy Philip Nicholson Keith Matthews |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA;2. Department of Astronomy, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02181, USA |
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Abstract: | Observations of the 15 August 1980 Uranus occultation of KM 12, obtained from Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory, European Southern Observatory, and Cerro Las Campanas Observatory, are used to compare the atmospheric structure at points separated by ~140 km along the planetary limb. The results reveal striking, but by no means perfect, correlation of the light curves, ruling out isotropic turbulence as the cause of the light curve spikes. The atmosphere is strongly layered, and any acceptable turbulence model must accommodate the axial ratios of which are observed. The mean temperature of the atmosphere is 150 ± 15°K for the region near number density 1014 cm?3. Derived temperature variations of vertical scale ~ 130km and amplitude ±5°K are in agreement for all stations, and correlated spikes correspond to low-amplitude temperature variations with a vertical scale of several kilometers. |
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