Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006hst..prop10805s&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #10805. Cycle 15
Physics
Scientific paper
Uranus' 97-degree spin axis inclination results in the largest fractional seasonal variation of solar insolation in the solar system. Uranus is now close to its 7 December 2007 equinox, and we can now see most of the northern hemisphere, which was in darkness when Voyager provided our first detailed view of the planet in 1986. If Uranus' seasonal response has the large phase shift expected from its long radiative time constant, it should now exhibit nearly maximal hemispheric contrast. Although the long time constant also suggests a small physical response, significant hemispheric asymmetries in cloud structure and dynamics are becoming apparent. We propose a detailed characterization of Uranus' current response to this forcing with a 10-orbit program consisting of 4 orbits of WFC imaging with narrowband ramp filters and 6 orbits of HRC imaging using both broadband and narrowband filters. Nine narrow-band filters between 0.62 and 0.955 microns will provide vertical sensing depths scanning through the pressure range where the putative methane and deeper H2S clouds might plausibly exist and provide strong constraints on their optical properties and parent gas mixing ratios. The high resolution HRC images will characterize the dynamics of discrete features at the 15-30 hour time scale unavailable from the ground. Short wavelength HRC images will enable a characterization of the stratospheric haze. These observations have unique combinations of spectral range and resolution with needed temporal and spatial resolution not available from groundbased observations.
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