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Science 14 November 1980:
Vol. 210. no. 4471, pp. 788 - 789
DOI: 10.1126/science.210.4471.788
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Articles

Brightness Temperatures of Saturn's Disk and Rings at 400 and 700 Micrometers

S. E. WHITCOMB 1, R. H. HILDEBRAND 1, and JOCELYN KEENE 1

1 Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637

Saturn was observed in two broad submillimeter photometric bands with the rings nearly edge-on. The observed brightness temperatures fall below the predictions of atmospheric models constructed from data at shorter wavelenths, indicating the presence of an opacity source besides pressure-broadened hydrogen lines in the submillimeter region. In combination with earlier measurements at larger inclination angles, these results yield a 400-micrometer brightness temperature for the rings of sim 75 K.

Submitted on April 11, 1980
Revised on July 7, 1980

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)