The Occultation of BD -17° 4388 by Neptune: III. Discussion

The occultation of a star by a planet of similar brightness allows accurate determination of the planet’s radius R, mean density ρ and of the ratio T/μ, where T and μ are the planetary atmospheric temperature and mean molecular weight. These quantities are important for the formation theory of the planet and of its atmosphere (see e.g. Öpik).