Large Brightness Variations of Uranus at Red and Near-IR Wavelengths (1510.04175v1)

Abstract: Uranus is fainter when the Sun and Earth are near its equatorial plane than when they are near the projection of its poles. The average of the absolute values of the sub-Earth and sub-Sun latitudes (referred to as the sub-latitude here) is used to quantify this dependency. The rates of change of magnitude with sub-latitude for four of the Johnson-Cousins band-passes are B-band, -0.48 +/- 0.11 milli-magnitudes per degree; V-band, -0.84 +/- 0.04 ; R-band, -5.33 +/- 0.30; and I-band -2.79 +/- 0.41. Evaluated over the range of observed sub-latitudes, the blue flux changes by a modest 3% while the red flux varies by a much more substantial 30%. These disk-integrated variations are consistent with the published brightness characteristics of the North and South Polar Regions, with the latitudinal distribution of methane and with a planetary hemispheric asymmetry. Reference magnitudes and colors are also reported along with geometric albedos for the seven Johnson-Cousins band-passes.