Measurements of near- and far-infrared zodiacal dust emission

Journal Article · Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1987 · Astron. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/114331· OSTI ID:6398226

Salama, A; Andreani, P; Debernardis, P; Masi, S; Dalloglio, G

Results concerning zodiacal dust emission are reported from an IR sky survey experiment performed during a balloon flight on July 30, 1984 which explored five wavelength bands centered at 11, 19, 50, 108, and 225 microns. The dust density n decreases at a rate slower than r exp -1.3 with increasing heliocentric distance. The trend of n depends critically on the radial variation of the temperature which, in turn, depends on the chemical composition of the grains. The spatial distribution of the dust is in good agreement with that previously inferred from IR measurements. A comparison between IR and optical observations points out the uncertainties affecting the estimates of the dust density obtained with both methods. The emission spectrum of the dust is used to discriminate among the different species of grains, showing that the observations can be accounted for by an appropriate mixture of graphite and silicates. 18 references.

• Research Organization: Roma I, Universita, Italy; CNR, Istituto di Fisica dell'Atmosfera, Rome, Italy
• OSTI ID: 6398226
• Journal Information: Astron. J.; (United States), Vol. 93
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COSMIC DUST
EMISSION SPECTRA
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
FAR INFRARED RADIATION
NEAR INFRARED RADIATION
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
ZODIACAL LIGHT
DUSTS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
INFRARED RADIATION
RADIATIONS
SPACE
SPECTRA
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena