| Telescope: | CFHT, F/36 Cassegrain focus |
| Date: | October 25, 1996 |
| Instrument: | UH 13-channel AO system and HgCdTe camera |
| Wavelength: | K' band |
| Total exposure: | 30s each |
| Scale: | Neptune's diameter is 2.2" |
| Orientation: | North is up - East is left |
| Observers: | Claude Roddier, François Roddier, J.E. Graves, M.J. Northcott |
Adaptive optics images of Neptune taken in the K' band on October 25, 1996, at a 56-minute time interval. Stratospheric clouds are clearly seen (above methane absorption). Longitudes of 0 deg, + 30 deg, and + 60 deg are shown. The northern clouds are exactly located at 30 deg north, the southern ones are between 32 deg and 48 deg south. Meridians are shown centered on the middle spots of both the north and south clouds. The observed rotation period is close to 18 hours (compared to 16.1 hour measured from Neptune's radio emission). Observations extending over a longer time period will permit to establish the latitude dependence of the wind velocity and allow a comparison to be made with tropospheric wind velocities deduced from Voyager observations. Lower altitude clouds are also observable with adaptive optics at shorter wavelenghts.
