Ammonia in the atmospheres of Saturn and Jupiter

A profile and equivalent width for the 6451.1-A feature of the 6450-A band of ammonia at the equator and south pole of Saturn have been measured. Estimates for the NH3 abundance at the center of the disk which vary from 0.4 to 5 m-am, depending upon the atmospheric model used, lead to uncertainties in the NH3/H2 ratio which are greater than a factor of 10. Half-widths for theoretical line profiles computed from models in which the NH3 absorption occurs at a pressure level of 1.0 atm agree with the observed profiles. NH3/H2 ratios have been obtained which range from 0.00001 to 0.00002 for Jupiter.