Spatially resolved infrared observations of Saturn. III - 10- and 20-micron disk scans at B prime = -11.8 deg

• Main Authors: Tokunaga, A. T., Caldwell, J., Gillett, F. C., Nolt, I. G.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1979
• Subjects: 91; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19790060365

Disk scans of Saturn at 10 and 20 microns were obtained when the Saturnicentric solar declination B prime was -11.8 deg. The scans show little change from scans obtained when B prime was -16.3 deg. This could result from the long radiative time constant of the Saturnian atmosphere. The observations at 20 microns, in the H2 continuum, show positively that the temperature inversion at the south pole has a higher temperature than at any other point on the disk. In addition, the 12.1- and 20-micron scans indicate that the temperature of the inversion region is higher at the equator compared to the temperate zone. The data also suggest that enhanced 20-micron emission is correlated with the strength of the ultraviolet absorption.