Observations of the Zodiacal Light from the Ecliptic to the Poles

Abstract

The brightness and polarization of the zodiacal light have been measured from the satellite OSO-5, using two photometers of effective wavelengths 4180 and 6820 A. The satellite configuration restricts the observations to ecliptic longitudes close to 90 , but measurements have been made from the ecliptic to the poles. On the ecliptic the intensity of the zodiacal light was found to be 117 S10 (blue) and 315 Sio (red) with polarizations of 16.5 and 15 percent, respectively. At the ecliptic poles the zodiacal intensity was 35 Sio (blue) with 20 percent polarization. No temporal changes in zodiacal light have been found nor any significant differences in the intensities in the two hemispheres. The direction of polarization of the zodiacal light has been shown to be H-pass radial within the accuracy of the determination of + 5 .