title: Thermal spectrum of uranus: implications for large helium abundance.
abstract: An analysis of the infrared spectrum of Uranus' disk between 7 micrometers and 3 millimeters suggests a volume mixing ratio for helium in the atmosphere of 40 +/- 20 percent, more than for the sun, Jupiter, or Saturn. Alternative explanations require even more extreme assumptions regarding gas abundances or aerosol vertical distribution and spectral properties. The most serious difficulty with a model containing large amounts of helium is devising a credible evolutionary or chemical model explaining the absence or segregation of so much hydrogen.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Orton