The Spectral Characteristics and Probable Structure of the Cloud Layer of Saturn

Abstract

Spectrophotometric (photographic and photoelectric) measurements of the intensity of CH4 absorption bands at 6190 and 7250 A over different regions of Saturn’s disk show an increase in intensity toward the poles and a decrease toward the equatorial limb. In the bright equatorial belt of Saturn the methane absorption is about 25–28% less than in the south temperate belt (latitude about -20°).