Abstract
High-resolution 12C- and 13C-ethane spectra of
Jupiter and Saturn were acquired with the McMathPierce 60 inch (1.5 m)
Telescope and Celeste, Goddard Space Flight Center's cryogenic grating
spectrometer, in 1995 November and December. A relative abundance ratio
12C/13C of 91+26-13 for
Jupiter and 99+43-23 for Saturn was derived from
the measurements. These nearly terrestrial values suggest little or no
fractionation of carbon isotopes in the atmospheres of Jupiter and
Saturn. A weighted average of the available 12C/13
ratios for the outer planets yields 88±7, thus presenting no
evidence for change in the carbon isotopic ratio between the presolar
nebula and the present atmospheres of the outer planets.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 903 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal v.472 |
Volume | 472 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 1996 |