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V. G. Tejfel (Fessenkov Astrophysical Institute, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan)
In the future planetary monitoring from the groundbased observatories or space telescopes the selection of a number of planetary state indices will be necessary to obtain homogeneous temporal series of numerical planetary characteristics. In 1999 special observations of latitude-longitudinal distribution of absorption in the methane bands on Jupiter were carried out. CCD-spectra of the central meridian of Jupiter were recorded in each 3 minutes that corresponded a turning of Jupiter by 1.8 degrees. All the longitudes of the planet were twice covered and full number of spectrograms was 388. A comparison of the latitudinal dependence of absorption in the different absorption bands has revealed some noticeable global, longitudinally independent differences in the character of latitudinal variations of absorption. So, equatorial depression of absorption is well expressed in the bands at 725 and 887 nm, but it is absent in the band at 619 nm. It is interesting that for the band 798 nm, which is a combination of the methane and ammonia absorption, the similar depression is displaced significantly northward from the equator (minimum of the absorption take place at the latitude about +15 deg) in contrast with the depression observed for the band CH4 887 nm. Very small northward displacement is noticeable also for the CH4 725 nm equatorial depression. There is no determined relationship between the value of molecular absorption and visible albedo of the cloud belts. Standard deviations calculated at the longitudinally averaging of the central meridian profiles of the band central depths R are small and no more than 1-2 per cent of mean value. Thus the latitudinal differences are more clearly expressed than longitudinal variations and the global, longitudinally averaged N-S profiles of the absorption variations may be considered as one of characteristics of the current state of Jupiter (as well as of Saturn). There may be not significant mistake if the individual profiles R(PHI) will be used also as that characteristic, if the global spectral scanning is impossible.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #3< br> © 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.