Skip to main content
Earth, Planets and Space
Download PDF

Volume 50 Supplement 6-7

Special Issue: The Zodiacal Cloud Sciences

  • Article
  • Published:

Brightness of the solar F-corona

Earth, Planets and Space volume 50, pages 493–499 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

We discuss our present knowledge about the brightness of the solar F-corona in the wavelength range from the visible to the middle infrared. From the general trend of the observational data, the F-corona is regarded as the continuous extension of the zodiacal light at smaller elongation of the line of sight. A contribution of thermal emission from dust is indicated by the increasing F-coronal brightness in comparison to the solar spectrum towards longer wavelength. As compared with the F-coronal brightness, the polarization and color in the visible regime are not well determined due to the high sensitivity of these quantities to the observational accuracy. Aside from observational problems, our present interpretation of the F-coronal brightness is also limited due to ambiguities in the inversion of the line of sight integral. Nevertheless, the measurements and model calculations of the brightness can be used to deduce some physical properties of dust grains. We show that the hump of the near-infrared brightness at 4 solar radii, which was sometimes observed in the corona, is related rather to the physical properties of dust grains along the line of sight than to the existence of a dust ring as previously discussed. We also show that the appearance or disappearance of the near-infrared peak in the coronal brightness cannot be described in any periodic cycle for each wavelength range.

References

  • Adney, K.J., Reduction of data, balloon-borne infrared coronagraph flight of October 24, 1971, NASA Report, October 1973 (UMASS-ARF-73-284), cited by Strong (1974).

  • Ajmanov, A. K. and G. M. Nikolsky, The colour of the solar corona and dust grains in it, Solar Phys., 65, 171–179, 1980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, C. W., Coronal photometry at the eclipse of 1954 June 30, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 116, 69–76, 1956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belton, M. J. S., Dynamics of interplanetary dust, Science, 151, 35–44, 1966.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belton, M. J. S., Dynamics of interplanetary dust particles near the Sun, in The Zodiacal Light and the Interplanetary Medium, edited by J. L. Weinberg (NASA SP-150), pp. 301–306, NASA, Washington, 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell, D. E., A study of the outer corona from a high altitude aircraft at the eclipse of 1954 June 30, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 115, 629–649, 1955.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell, D. E. and A. D. Petford, Observations of the 1963 July 20 solar eclipse I. Spectroscopic separation of the F and K components of the solar corona at large distances from the Sun, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 131, 383–398, 1966a.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell, D. E. and A. D. Petford, Observations of the 1963 July 20 solar eclipse II. The electron density in the solar corona in the region 5 < R/R 0 < 16 obtained from measurements of Fraunhofer line depth, and the polarization of the F corona, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 131, 399–406, 1966b.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell, D. E., D. W. Dewhirst, and M. F. Ingham, The zodiacal light, Adv. Astron. Astrophys., 5, 1–69, 1967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brownlee, D. E., L. Pilachowski, E. Olszewski, and P. W. Hodge, Analysis of interplanetary dust collections, in Solid Particles in the Solar System, edited by I. Halliday and B. A. McIntosh, pp. 333–342, Reidel, Dordrecht, 1980.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brueckner, G. E., R. A. Howard, M. J. Koomen, C. M. Korendyke, D. J. Michels, J. D. Moses, D. G. Socker, K. P. Dere, P. L. Lamy, A. Llebaria, M. V. Bout, R. Schwenn, G. M. Simnett, D. K. Bedford, and C. J. Eyles, The large angle spectroscopic coronagraph (LASCO) Visible light coronal imaging and spectroscopy, Solar Phys., 162, 357–402, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C., D. P., Variability of circumsolar dust ring, Solar Phys., 159, 181–190, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durst, J., Two colour photometry and polarimetry of the solar corona of 16 February 1980, Astron. Astrophys., 112, 241–250, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giese, R. H., K. Weiss, R. H. Zerull, and T. Ono, Large fluffy particles: a possible explanation of the optical properties of interplanetary dust, Astron. Astrophys., 65, 265–272, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillett, F. C., W. A. Stein, and E. P. Ney, Observations of the solar corona from the limb of the Sun to the zodiacal light, July 20, 1963, Astrophys. J., 140, 292–305, 1964.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanner, M. S., The infrared zodiacal light, in Origin and Evolution of Interplanetary Dust, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 173, edited by A. C. Levasseur-Regourd and H. Hasegawa, pp. 171–178, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1991.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hanner, M. S., D. K. Lynch, and R. W. Russell, The 8–13 micron spectra of comets and the composition of silicate grains, Astrophys. J., 425, 274–285, 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodapp, K.-W., R. M. MacQueen, and D. N. B. Hall, A search during the 1991 solar eclipse for the infrared signature of circumsolar dust, Nature, 355, 707–710, 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isobe, S. and A. Satheesh-Kumar, An explanation for time dependent variability of the solar dust ring, Astrophys. Space Sci., 205, 297–303, 1993a.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isobe, S. and A. Satheesh-Kumar, An effect of Lorentz force on interplanetary dust, in Meteroroids and Their Parent Bodies, edited by J. Stohl and I. P. Williams, pp. 381–385, Astronomical Inst. Slovak Acad. Sci., Bratislava, 1993b.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isobe, S., T. Hirayama, N. Baba, and N. Miura, Optical polarization observations of circumsolar dust during the 1983 solar eclipse, Nature, 318, 644–646, 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isobe, S., T. Hirayama, N. Baba, and N. Miura, Optical coronal polarization and solar dust ring, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 39, 667–677, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimura, H., H. Ishimoto, and T. Mukai, A study on solar dust ring formation based on fractal dust models, Astron. Astrophys., 326, 263–270, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimura, H., I. Mann, and T. Mukai, Influence of dust shape and material composition on the solar F-corona, Planet. Space Sci., 1998 (in press).

  • Koomen, M. J., J. D. Purcell, and R. Tousey, Rocket observations of the corona on March 7, 1970, Nature, 226, 1135–1138, 1970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koutchmy, S. and P. L. Lamy, The F-corona and the circum-solar dust evidences and properties [G. Nikolsky memorial lecture], in Properties and Interactions of Interplanetary Dust, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 119, edited by R. H. Giese and P. Lamy, pp. 63–74, Reidel, Dordrecht, 1985.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Krivov, A., I. Mann, and H. Kimura, The circumsolar dust complex and solar magnetic field, Earth Planets Space, 50, this issue, 551–554, 1998a.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krivov, A., H. Kimura, and I. Mann, Dynamics of dust near the Sun, Icarus, 1998b (in press).

  • Kuhn, J. R., H. Lin, P. Lamy, S. Koutchmy, and R. N. Smartt, IR observations of the K and F corona during the 1991 eclipse, in Infrared Solar Physics, IAU Symp. No. 154, edited by D. M. Rabin, J. T. Jefferies, and C. Lindsey, pp. 185–197, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 199

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lamy, P., J. R. Kuhn, H. Lin, S. Koutchmy, and R. N. Smartt, No evidence of a circumsolar dust ring from infrared observations of the 1991 solar eclipse, Science, 257, 1377–1380, 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leinert, C., H. Link, and E. Pitz, Rocket photometry of the inner zodiacal light, Astron. Astrophys., 30, 411–422, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leinert, C., I. Richter, E. Pitz, and M. Hanner, Helios zodiacal light measurements—a tabulated summary, Astron. Astrophys., 110, 355–357, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leinert, Ch., S. Bowyer, L. K. Haikala, M. S. Hanner, M. G. Hauser, A.-Ch. Levasseur-Regourd, I. Mann, K. Mattila, W. T. Reach, W. Schlosser, H. J. Staude, G. N. Toller, J. L. Weiland, J. L. Weinberg, and A. N. Witt, The 1997 reference of diffuse night sky brightness, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser., 127, 1–99, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lena, P., Y. Viala, D. Hall, and A. Soufflot, The thermal emission of the dust corona, during the eclipse of June 30, 1973, Astron. Astrophys., 37, 81–86, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., Optical and thermal properties of zodiacal dust, in Physics, Chemistry, and Dynamics of Interplanetary Dust, A.S.P. Conf. Ser., Vol. 104, edited by B. Ã…. S. Gustafson and M. S. Hanner, pp. 301–308, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., J. B. Renard, and R. Dumont, The zodiacal cloud complex, in Origin and Evolution of Interplanetary Dust, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 173, edited by A. C. Levasseur-Regourd and H. Hasegawa, pp. 131–138, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1991.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • MacQueen, R. M., Infrared observations of the outer solar corona, Astrophys. J., 154, 1059–1076, 1968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacQueen, R. M. and B. W. Greeley, Solar coronal dust scattering in the infrared, Astrophys. J., 440, 361–369, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacQueen, R. M. and O. C. St. Cyr, Sungrazing comets observed by the Solar Maximum Mission coronagraph, Icarus, 90, 96–106, 1991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacQueen, R. M., C. L. Ross, and T. Mattingly, Observations from space of the solar corona/inner zodiacal light, Planet. Space Sci., 21, 2173–2179, 1973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacQueen, R. M., K.-W. Hodapp, and D. N. B. Hall, Infrared coronal observations at the 1991 solar eclipse, in Infrared Solar Physics, IAU Symp. No. 154, edited by D. M. Rabin, J. T. Jefferies, and C. Lindsey, pp. 199–203, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1994.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • MacQueen, R. M., W. C. Davidson, and I. Mann, M. S. Hanner, pp. 349–352, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, 19

    Google Scholar 

  • Maihara, T., K. Mizutani, N. Hiromoto, H. Takami, and H. Hasegawa, A balloon observation of the thermal radiation from the circumsolar dust cloud in the 1983 total eclipse, in Properties and Interactions of Interplanetary Dust, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 119, edited by R. H. Giese and P. Lamy, pp. 55–58, Reidel, Dordrecht, 1985.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mampaso, A., C. Sánchez-Magro, and J. Buitrago, Near infrared emission from the solar corona, in Sun and Planetary System, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 96, edited by W. Fricke and G. Teleki, pp. 257–258, Reidel, Dordrecht, 1982.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mampaso, A., C. Sánchez-Magro, M. J. Selby, and A. D. MacGregor, Infrared observations of the thermal emission from the corona, Rev. Mexicana Astron. Astrof., 8, 3–6, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mankin, W. G., R. M. MacQueen, and R. H. Lee, The coronal radiance in the intermediate infrared, Astron. Astrophys., 31, 17–21, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, I., Interplanetary dust close to the Sun, in Origin and Evolution of Interplanetary Dust, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 173, edited by A. C. Levasseur-Regourd and H. Hasegawa, pp. 187–190, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1991.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, I., The solar F-corona: calculations of the optical and infrared brightness of circumsolar dust, Astron. Astrophys., 261, 329–335, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, I., Properties and dynamics of interplanetary dust derived from near solar studies, in Meteroroids and Their Parent Bodies, edited by J. Stohl and I. P. Williams, pp. 387–390, Astronomical Inst. Slovak Acad. Sci., Bratislava, 1993a.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, I., The influence of circumsolar dust on the whitelight corona—study of the visual F-corona brightness, Planet. Space Sci., 41, 301–305, 1993b.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, I., Zodiacal cloud complexes, Earth Planets Space, 50, this issue, 465–471, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, I. and E. Grün, The dynamics of interplanetary dust derived from observations of the zodiacal light in relation to the dust experiments on-board Ulysses and Galileo, in Hypervelocity Impacts in Space, edited by J. A. M. McDonnell, pp. 200–204, Unit for Space Sciences, University of Kent at Canterbury, 1992.

  • Mann, I. and R. M. MacQueen, The solar F-corona at 2.12 μm: calculations of near-solar dust in comparison to 1991 eclipse observations, Astron. Astrophys., 275, 293–297, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, I., H. Okamoto, T. Mukai, H. Kimura, and Y. Kitada, Fractal aggregate analogues for near solar dust properties, Astron. Astrophys., 291, 1011–1018, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsumoto, T., M. Kawada, H. Murakami, M. Noda, S. Matsuura, M. Tanaka, and K. Narita, IRTS observation of the near-infrared spectrum of the zodiacal light, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 48, L47–L51, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michels, D. J., N. R. Sheeley, Jr., R. A. Howard, and M. J. Koomen, Observations of a comet on collision course with the sun, Science, 215, 1097–1102, 1982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mizutani, K., T. Maihara, N. Hiromoto, and H. Hiromoto, Near-infrared observation of the circumsolar dust emission during the 1983 solar eclipse, Nature, 312, 134–136, 1984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukai, T. and S. Mukai, Temperature and motion of the grains in interplanetary space, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 25, 481–488, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukai, T. and T. Yamamoto, A model of the circumsolar dust cloud, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 31, 585–595, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newkirk, G., Jr., R. G. Dupree, and E. J. Schmahl, Magnetic fields and the structure of the solar corona II: Observations of the 12 November 1966 solar corona, Solar Phys., 15, 15–39, 1970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nikolsky, G. M., S. Koutchmy, and I. A. Nesmyanovich, Relative distribution of color of June 30, 1973 solar corona, Soln. Dannye, 4, 67–70, 1983 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Over, J., On the vaporization of solid particles near the sun, Proc. Kon. Ned. Akad. v. Wetensch., B, 61, 74–84, 1958.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pepin, T. J., Observations of the brightness and polarization of the outer corona during the 1966 November 12 total eclipse of the Sun, Astrophys. J., 159, 1067–1075, 1970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, A. W., Thermal radiation from interplanetary dust, Astrophys. J., 138, 1218–1230, 1963.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, A. W., Experimental detection of thermal radiation from interplanetary dust, Astrophys. J., 148, L37–L39, 1967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, A. W., The coronal brightness at 2.23 microns, Astrophys. J., 155, 1009–1015, 1969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, A. W., A determination of the vaporization temperature of circumsolar dust at 4 R ⊙, Bull. Am. Astr. Soc., 3, 500, 1971.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, U. R., T. K. Alex, V. S. Iyengar, K. Kasturirangan, T. M. K. Marar, R. S. Mathur, and D. P. Sharma, IR observations of the solar corona—ring around the Sun? Nature, 289, 779–780, 1981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, H. N., On meteoric matter near the stars, Astrophys. J., 69, 49–71, 1929.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saito, K., A. I. Poland, and R. H. Munro, A study of the background corona near solar minimum, Solar Phys., 55, 121–134, 1977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skomorovsky, V. I., S. A. Druzhinin, and R. T. Salakhutdinov, Otchet o Nabludenii Solnechnogo Zatmeniya 11 Iyulya 1991 goda s territorii Meksiki (Report on the observation of the July 11, 1991 solar eclipse in Mexico), SibIZMIR, 1992 (in Russian).

  • Smartt, R. N., J. Strong, W. S. Dalton, and T.-C. Li, 1973 Africa eclipse observations, NASA Report, January 1974.

  • Strong, J., Balloon-borne infrared coronagraph, in Telescope System for Balloon-Borne Research, NASA Technical Memorandum, edited by C. Swift, F. C. Witteborn, and A. Shipley, (NASA TM X-62397) pp. 1–6, November 1974.

  • Tanabé, T., F. Tsumuraya, N. Baba, M. Alvarez, M. Noguchi, and S. Isobe, Optical polarization observations of the solar corona during the total solar eclipse of 1991 July 11, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 44, L221–L226, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tollestrup, E. V., G. G. Fazio, J. Woolaway, J. Blackwell, and K. Brecher, Infrared images of the Sun during the July 11, 1991 solar eclipse, in Infrared Solar Physics, IAU Symp. No. 154, edited by D. M. Rabin, J. T. Jefferies, and C. Lindsey, pp. 179–183, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1994.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • van de Hulst, H. C., Zodiacal light in the solar corona, Astrophys. J., 105, 471–488, 1947.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldmeier, M., Ergebnisse der Zürcher Sonnenfinsternisexpedition 1954 VIII. Helligkeitsverteilung und Komponentenzerlegung, Z. Astrophys., 53, 81–94, 1961 (in German).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie, Max-Planck-Straße 2, D-37191, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany

    Hiroshi Kimura & Ingrid Mann

Authors
  1. Hiroshi Kimura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ingrid Mann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroshi Kimura.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kimura, H., Mann, I. Brightness of the solar F-corona. Earth Planet Sp 50, 493–499 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352140

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352140

Keywords