First detection of CO in Uranus
Abstract
The spectrum of Uranus has been recorded in Oct.-Nov. 2002, between 4.6 and 5.0 μm, using the ISAAC imaging spectrometer at the VLT-UT1 (ANTU) 8-m telescope of ESO. The spectral resolving power was 1500. In addition to a few strong H_3+ emission lines, the spectrum of Uranus distinctly shows the emission lines of the CO(1-0) band from R7 to P8. The relative intensity distribution of the observed CO emission is not compatible with a thermal distribution, for any value of the rotational temperature. The most likely emission mechanism is fluorescence, and a good fit is obtained assuming a constant CO mixing ratio of 3× 10-8 at the tropopause and above. The tropospheric continuum of Uranus is also detected beween 4.7 and 5.0 μm. The observed continuum can be fitted assuming reflected sunlight above a cloud level at 3.1 bars, presumably attributed to H_2S. Upper limits of 2× 10-8 and 1× 10-6 are inferred for the CO and PH_3 tropospheric mixing ratios above this level. The low CO tropospheric upper limit might suggest that the CO vertical distribution is not uniform.
- Publication:
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Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- January 2004
- DOI:
- 10.1051/0004-6361:20034637
- Bibcode:
- 2004A&A...413L...5E
- Keywords:
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- planets and satellites: Uranus;
- infrared: solar system