Values Of Polarization Degree Research Articles

SIMULTANEOUS PHOTOMETRIC AND POLARIMETRIC OBSERVATIONS OF ASTEROID 3 JUNO

Simultaneous photometric and polarimetric observations of asteroid 3 Juno have been carried out with a low-resolution spectropolarimeter HBS at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory from 2000 August 4 to 8. The amplitude of the light curve was 0.14 mag with almost the same brightness maxima and 0.10 mag different minima. Polarimetric data showed one maximum and minimum in the absolute values of polarization degree |Pr |, and the difference attained 0.149% in the V band. The minimum of |Pr | appeared around the second minimum of the light curve, which means that a bright area exists on the surface of 3 Juno. We found that the values of |Pr | tend to increase 0.1%-0.2% with wavelength, and this result is consistent with the general tendency of S-type asteroids. In addition, we might find that the increase rate of |Pr | is steeper in wavelengths longer than 7000 A. From the variation of polarization degree with the rotation of 3 Juno, we estimated the albedo of the bright area with a simple model and obtained a range of 0.19-0.41.

Testing Polarization Measurements with Adjusted View Zenith Angles in Varying Illumination Conditions for Detecting Leaf Orientation of Wheat Canopy

:The previous work revealed that the polarization of light reflected from heading wheat canopies allowed the detection of changes in the canopy structure, i.e., the leaf inclination angle. Accordingly, in order to improve measurement accuracy in this study we examined the effects of the solar zenith angle (= 90º–solar elevation) and weather conditions at the time of polarization measurements for the light reflected from wheat canopies that were fertilized by different means. We measured polarization in the 660 nm spectral band from the heading canopies of wheat, which were grown in plots fertilized with a basal dressing and then top-dressed at the jointing and booting stages. The radiometric measurements were carried out at various solar zenith angles: 22º–41º on two proximal days, one overcast and the other clear. An empirical method for the adjustment of view zenith angle, based on the solar position at the time of measurement, was effective for the measurement of the degree of polarization (i.e., ratio of the polarized part of reflected light to the total reflected light energy) to eliminate interference due to the change in solar zenith angle. Although the mean values of polarization degree measured in overcast conditions were significantly lower than those measured under clear conditions, the plots top-dressed at the jointing stage could be detected via the polarized reflected light measured under both conditions of illumination.

Opposition polarimetry and photometry of S- and E-type asteroids

The first results of the observational program devoted to simultaneous investigation of asteroid polarimetric and photometric opposition phenomena are presented. UBVRI polarimetric and V-band photometric observations of the S-type Asteroid 20 Massalia and the E-type Asteroids 214 Aschera and 620 Drakonia were carried out in 1996–1999 down to phase angles of 0.08°, 0.7°, and 1.2°, correspondingly. The S-type Asteroid 20 Massalia is characterized by the pronounced brightness opposition surge with an amplitude larger than that observed for the E-type asteroids. A sharp peak of negative polarization at small phase angles was not observed for this asteroid. The value of polarization degree at phase angle α<1° is less than 0.5% for both S and E types. The negative polarization branches of S and especially E-asteroids have an asymmetrical shape. The phase angle at which the polarization minimum occurs is close to the angle at which non-linear increase begins in the asteroid magnitude phase curves. A relation of the observed effects to the mechanism of coherent backscattering is discussed.

Images of polarization and colour in the inner coma of comet Hale-Bopp

On March 31 and April 1, 1997, simultaneous photometry and polarimetry of comet Hale-Bopp's dust was conducted with the two-channel focal reducer of the Max-Planck-Institute for Aeronomy attached to the 2 m telescope of Pik Terskol Observatory (Northern Caucasus). Interference filters at642 nm and 443 nm selected red and blue narrow-band continuum windows. The observations have been averaged over the one hour of timethe comet could be observed. The polarization maps cover an area of about1 arcmin2 around the nucleus. The values of polarization degree measured close to the nucleus agree very well with observations obtained with aperture polarimetry. They are lower than in the surrounding coma by about 1%. In our field of view the polarization increases along the sun-comet line from the solar to the antisolar side by about 3%. The dust shells are visible in the polarization images. The polarization in the shells is higher by 1 to 2%and this increase is higher in the red than in the blue range. Therefore the ratio of red to blue polarization (≈ 1.2) increases in the shells by ≈ 0.03. In principle, the polarization excess in the shells, the ratio of red/blue polarization and the higher integrated polarization as compared to other comets can be explained by an excess of particles of radius of about 0.1 μm. Such particles, however, are subject to strong radiation pressure and will be pushed back into the tail before they reach the observed location of the shells. Real Rayleigh particles cannot explain the observed increase in the ratio of red/blue polarization. One therefore cannot exclude the possibility that the excess polarization in the shells is caused by fluffy aggregates via effects which are presently not well understood. The colour map shows features not well related to intensity and polarization, perhaps another dust shell of a different particle size.