Further observations of the zodiacal light from a high altitude station and investigations of the interplanetary plasma, III. Photoelectric measurements of polarization
Abstract
If, as has been suggested by Huruhata, the degree of polarization of the night sky at high ecliptic latitudes is low (<0.3 per cent), its value can place a useful upper limit on the electron density in regions away from the plane of the ecliptic. The polarization of the night sky has been measured at the Chacaltaya High Altitude Observatory using a polarimeter incorporating an electro -optic modulator. The mean polarization observed in the region of' the North ecliptic pole is per cent, but the individual values vary significantly from night to night; this variation is attributed to changes in , 9f the night sky. The true mean value, corrected for the effect of scattered light, is per cent; it is too high to set a useful upper limit on the electron density. The significance' of the observations in scattering by an interplanetary and a geocentric dust cloud is discussed.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- 1964
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/128.5.419
- Bibcode:
- 1964MNRAS.128..419B