Stellar Occultation Studies of Giant Planet Systems

AST 0073447 Elliot恒星掩星可以探测外太阳系中的环系和大气，空间分辨率为几公里--比任何其他基于地球的方法的解决方案都要好几个数量级。埃利奥特博士和他的合作研究人员将观察2000-2003年期间发生的巨大行星系统最高质量的掩星活动，然后利用这些数据研究光环和大气层的几个物理方面。该计划强调使用今天和明天最先进的仪器进行尽可能高的时间分辨率多波长观测的组合，以及对最高质量的存档掩星观测的进一步分析。除了对天王星和几个木星事件的观测(特别是对极光区域的采样)之外，在2004年卡西尼号航天器到达和惠更斯探测器进入土卫六大气层之前，对土卫六和土星的观测受到了很大的重视。掩星研究将包括对天王星、木星和土星上层大气中的温度、压力和数密度分布的调查。该项目由天文科学部行星天文计划资助。*

AST 0073447ElliotStellar occultations can probe ring systems and atmospheres in the outer solar systemwith spatial resolutions of a few kilometers-several orders of magnitude better than theresolution of any other Earth-based method. Dr. Elliot and his co-researchers will observe the highest quality occultations by the giant planet systems occurring during the 2000-2003 period and then use these data to investigate several physical aspects of rings and atmospheres. The program emphasizes a combination of the highest temporal resolution multi-wavelength observations possible using today's and tomorrow's state-of-the-art instrumentation, along with further analyses of the highest quality archived occultation observations. In addition to observations of Uranus and several Jovian events (particularly those sampling auroral regions), a strong observational emphasis is being placed on Titan and Saturn leading up to the 2004 arrival of the Cassini spacecraft and the deployment of the Huygens probe into Titan's atmosphere. The occultation studies will include an investigation of the temperature, pressure, and number density profiles in the upper atmospheres of Uranus, Jupiter, and Saturn. This project is funded by the Planetary Astronomy Program in the Division of Astronomical Sciences.***