The magnitude and color of the Saturn system

Abstract

Brightness measurements made during 1963–1965 and 1991–2009 are used in constructing models of the brightness of the Saturn system in the Johnson B, V, R and I system. The models cover nearly the full range of phase angles and ring opening angles visible from the Earth and are believed to be accurate to 0.03–0.05 magnitudes. A U-filter model is also selected which covers ring opening angles of between 4° and 14°. The model is the first such one that treats the light from the rings as a function of the saturnicentric latitude from the Earth and Sun in a way that is consistent with observations and theoretical considerations. Six conclusions of this work are: (1) the Saturn system brightens as the solar phase angle decreases, (2) the Saturn system has an opposition surge, (3) the opposition surge increases as the ring opening angle increases, (4) the solar phase angle coefficient increases as the ring opening angle increases, (5) the B–V, V–R and R–I color indexes change by up to 0.2 magnitudes as Saturn orbits the Sun and (6) the V-filter model in this report is a better fit to the 1963–2009 data than the one proposed by Harris (Harris, D.L. [1961]. In: Kuiper, G.P., Middlehurst, B.M. (Eds), Planets and Satellites. Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL, pp. 272–342].