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The Color Dependence of Interstellar Polarization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2017

Alfred Behr
Alfred Behr*
Affiliation:
Göttingen University Observatory, Göttingen, Germany

Extract

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Measurements of the Interstellar Polarization of Starlight at different wavelengths have been reported by several observers in references 1 to 8. With a few exceptions the wavelength range of the measurements is still relatively small, and up to now only a few dozens of stars have been measured with high precision. There is still a remarkable discrepancy between the results of different observers, as can be seen in figure 1. The scattering of the individual values is significantly larger than the probable error given by the respective authors. One of the most serious error sources seems to be the instrumental polarization which itself is highly color dependent. (See ref. 9.)

Nevertheless, even if a much greater individual error is assumed, a remarkable conclusion can be drawn: the wavelength dependence of polarization is not the same for all stars.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 7: Proper Motions , August 1965 , pp. 45 - 50
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer Academic Publishers 1965

References

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