MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY OF JUPITER AND SATURN USING ADAPTIVE OPTICS ANDACOUSTOOPTIC TUNING

We obtained near-infrared, multispectral imagery of Jupiter and Saturn during July 1994 using the second-generation, laser-beacon adaptive o ptics 1.5-m telescope facility at the USAF Phillips Laboratory Starfir e Optical Range (SOR). The telescope optics were equipped with a fast, germanium array and image correlation processor for tip-tilt correcti on on extended, i.e., planetary objects, and a broadband CCD ''scoring '' camera with 0.089 arcsec/pixel sampling, for evaluating the overall system performance. Wavelength tunable imaging was accomplished by sh aring the focal plane with a Goddard-built, acousto-optic tunable filt er (AOTF) camera operating from 700 to 950 nm. Spectral images of the Jupiter-SL/9 collision sites were photometrically calibrated and reduc ed to absolute reflectivity (I/F) at each wavelength. Images of the si tes show spectrally dependent details which provide the starting point for one-dimensional plume models. Higher quality images of Saturn wer e acquired, with a spatial resolution of 0.29 arcsec. We attribute thi s to robust tip-tilt correction made possible by the presence of Satur n's rings, which break the symmetry of an otherwise nearly circular im age. The compensated images of Saturn indicate early evidence of a nor thern hemisphere atmospheric disturbance.