Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Neptune's Cloud Structure in 1994
H. B. Hammel 1,
G. W. Lockwood 2,
J. R. Mills 1, and
C. D. Barnet 3
1 Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
2 Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
3 Space Astrophysics Laboratory, Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science, North York, Ontario M3J 3K1, Canada
Images of Neptune taken at six wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope in October and November 1994 revealed several atmospheric features not present at the time of the Voyager spacecraft encounter in 1989. Furthermore, the largest feature seen in 1989, the Great Dark Spot, was gone. A dark spot of comparable size had appeared in the northern hemisphere, accompanied by discrete bright features at methane-band wavelengths. At visible wavelengths, Neptune's banded structure appeared similar to that seen in 1989.
Submitted on February 13, 1995
Accepted on April 18, 1995
