Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Mar 1976
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976icar...27..387h&link_type=abstract
Icarus, vol. 27, Mar. 1976, p. 387-389.
Physics
Optics
2
Atmospheric Diffusion, Atmospheric Optics, Jupiter Atmosphere, Ray Tracing, Atmospheric Refraction, Bouguer Law, Integral Equations, Radio Occultation
Scientific paper
Phinney and Anderson's (1968) exact theory for the inversion of radio-occultation data for planetary atmospheres breaks down seriously when applied to occultations by oblate atmospheres because of departures from Bouguer's law. It has been proposed that this breakdown can be overcome by transforming the theory to a local spherical symmetry which osculates a ray's point of closest approach. The accuracy of this transformation procedure is assessed by evaluating the size of terms which are intrinsic to an oblate atmosphere and which are not eliminated by a local spherical approximation. The departures from Bouguer's law are analyzed, and it is shown that in the lowest-order deviation from that law, the plane of refraction is defined by the normal to the atmosphere at closest approach. In the next order, it is found that the oblateness of the atmosphere 'warps' the ray path out of a single plane, but the effect appears to be negligible for most purposes. It is concluded that there seems to be no source of serious error in making an approximation of local spherical symmetry with the refraction plane defined by the normal at closest approach.
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