The effective temperature of Uranus

Abstract

Uranus was observed in the spectral region from 40 to 250 microns with a 102-cm balloon-borne telescope, and the results were interpreted in terms of model atmosphere calculations to yield an effective temperature of 58 plus or minus 3 K; this sets an upper limit of about 28 per cent on the relative contribution of an internal heat source to the total thermal radiation. On the same flight, the brightness temperatures of Venus (215 plus or minus 13 K) and Jupiter (135 plus or minus 6 K) were also measured, thus reconfirming the existence of an internal heat source for Jupiter.