Abstract
The 1 May 1982 occultation of KME 15 by Uranus and its rings was observed at λ = 2.2 μm using the 1.9-m telescope of the Mount Stromlo Observatory. From model fits to the immersion and emersion ring profiles, accurate midtimes for rings 6, 5, 4, α, β, η, γ, σ, and ε{lunate}, and ring widths, equivalent widths, and normal optical depths for all but ring 6 were obtained. The recently discovered ring 1986 U1R is not detectable in the data, setting an upper limit on the product of ring width and normal optical depth of ≤0.4 km at λ = 2.2 μm. From the immersion and emersion atmosphere occultations, vertical temperature profiles were obtained by numerical inversion. Both profiles show mean temperatures near 130°K and a local maximum near the 8-μbar pressure level.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 499-505 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Icarus |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 1987 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank Philip Nicholson,J ohn Hillier, and the staff of Mt. StromloO bservatorfyo r assistancwe ith the observationTs.h is researchw as supporteidn part by NASA Grant NSG-7526 and NSF Grant AST-829825.