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Clementine Photographs of the Inner Zodiacal Light

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

B. L. Cooper
Affiliation:
B. Cooper & Associates, Houston Texas
H. A. Zook
Affiliation:
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
A. E. Potter
Affiliation:
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

Abstract

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Over 700 photographs of the inner zodiacal light were taken from the Clementine spacecraft while it was in orbit around the Moon. These exposures were taken with the 28° x 43° field-of-view Star Tracker camera and the 4.2° x 5.6° field-of-view UV/Vis camera. The images were made while the Clementine spacecraft was on the dark side of the Moon such that the Sun was occulted. Most of the photos were taken at the highest possible sensitivity and longest exposure time (0.7 sec) in order to detect an expected weak lunar horizon glow. Consequently, many of the photos are over exposed where the zodiacal light is the brightest. However, a subset of photos were purposefully taken with a range of exposure times to reveal the entire inner zodiacal light structure, both in latitude and longitude, to within 1° of the Sun. These Star Tracker images show the lenticular shape of the inner zodiacal light. When work to correct the images to absolute photometry is concluded, the detailed structure of the entire inner zodiacal light will be derived.

Type
IX. Zodiacal Light and Thermal Emission
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1996

References

1. Depression angle: The angular distance of a heavenly body below the horizon.

2. Elongation: The angle between two celestial bodies as seen from the Earth.

3. Dynamic range: the ratio of the highest measure (in whatever units) to the lowest measure (in the same units).

4. The Clementine data arc publicly accessible. Contact the NSSDC request office at request@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov, photic number (301) 286-6695.