Interstellar polarization at high galactic latitudes from distant stars

Abstract

We present a detailed map of interstellar polarization for the South Galactic Pole (b 0.011 at the NGP and E(B −V) > 0.016 at the SGP (Appenzeller 1975). However, his polarization data in the SGP zone cover only the area 45 ◦ b > −80 ◦ . Our first results for the South Galactic Pole (b 0.4%) were detected. We also found that the directions of the observed interstellar polariza- tion are very well aligned with the Galactic latitude l ≈ 80 ◦ . However, the polarization map of the southern circumpolar area at that time was far from complete: less than 30 percent of the 20 ◦ zone around the South Galactic Pole had been studied. In 2001−2003 we have continued our measurements and cov- ered the previously unstudied area. This gives us a detailed pic- ture of the interstellar polarization around the SGP and allows us to make a straightforward comparison with the northern po- lar direction.