Zodiacal light photopolarimetry. III - All-sky survey from Teide 1964-1975 with emphasis on off-ecliptic features

Dumont, R.; Sanchez Martinez, F.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 51, no. 3, Sept. 1976, p. 393-399. Research supported by the Universite de Bordeaux, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas.

Advertised on:
9
1976
Number of authors
2
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
30
Refereed citations
24
Description
Photopolarimetric observations of the zodiacal light over a complete solar cycle are used to study the average distribution of brightness and degree of polarization over the entire sky. It is found that the brightness ratio between the helioecliptic meridian (the line connecting the solar and antisolar points) and the ecliptic is independent of elongation from 35 to 90 deg and that the average isophotes of the whole high-latitude sky are centered around a point located 15 deg from the ecliptic towards the antisolar point. The observations also show that the degree of polarization on the helioecliptic meridian is higher than that on the ecliptic for elongations greater than 64 deg but lower than the latter for elongations less than 64 deg. It is concluded that these results seem to favor an oblate dust cloud, although no model can be excluded.