Abstract The method of “the nodes of lesser uncertainty”, which led in the optical study of the zodiacal light to a fair localization of the information, is being adapted to the available thermal observations, especially to IRAS ones. The observations in the ecliptic plane give access to the temperature and, by comparison with optical results, to the albedo of the dust at 1 AU. The heliocentric derivatives are also obtained: the temperature decrease is slower than in a homogeneous cloud, and therefore the albedo is decreasing. If the apparent (optical) slope ν of the heliocentric fall r−ν of the space density is corrected for this change of albedo, the true ν recovers a value close to 1, much more satisfying on theoretical grounds. This localization process allows to derive from the annual oscillations of brightness at the ecliptic poles the inclination and the ascending node of the symmetry plane of the zodiacal dust. After taking into account the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, IRAS data show a full agreement with previous ground-based (Tenerife) and satellite (D2A) results.
Localized properties of the zodiacal dust, by comparison of IRAS and of optical observations
Advances in Space Research ; 6 , 7 ; 87-90
1987-01-01
4 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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