Limb polarization of Uranus and Neptune. II Spectropolarimetric observations

Abstract

We have detected a strong limb polarization for Uranus and Neptune. With spectropolarimetric observations we characterize the spectral dependence of this limb polarization and explore the diagnostic potential for investigating the distribution and properties of the scattering particles. We present disk resolved spectropolarimetry of Uranus and Neptune covering the wavelength range from 530nm to 930nm and compare the spectropolarimetric signal for different limb sections and the center of the planetary disk. As an additional benefit we obtained center-to-limb disk profiles for the intensity and polarization for various wavelengths.