Abstract
J. C. BHATTACHARYYA has presented observations1 of the occultation of Beta Scorpii by Jupiter on May 13, 1971, from which he concludes that the scale height of the Jupiter atmosphere is 3 km. In his discussion he mentions work by Baum and Code2 referring to the 1952 observations of the occultation of Sigma Arietis and by Fairall3 reporting cinematography of the 1971 events. The observation by Baum and Code gave a scale height of 8 km and raised serious questions because such a small value indicated a high molecular weight for the Jupiter atmosphere, supposedly due to a high helium content. If Bhattacharyya's result is correct, then the anomaly is even more pronounced.
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References
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EVANS, D., HUBBARD, W. Discrepancies in Measurements of the Jupiter Atmospheric Scale Height. Nature Physical Science 240, 162 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/physci240162a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/physci240162a0