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Science 19 December 1986:
Vol. 234. no. 4783, pp. 1543 - 1545
DOI: 10.1126/science.234.4783.1543
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Articles

Long-Term Brightness Variations of Neptune and the Solar Cycle Modulation of Its Albedo

G. W. LOCKWOOD 1 and D. T. THOMPSON 1

1 Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.

The visual brightness and albedo of Neptune vary periodically during the 11-year solar cycle with an amplitude of 4%, anticorrelated with the variation of solar ultraviolet output. A seasonal trend in color suggests that Neptune, like Uranus, may have a slightly reddened pole.

Submitted on July 28, 1986
Accepted on September 16, 1986

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