Special Issue: The Zodiacal Cloud Sciences
- Article
- Published:
Brightness of the solar F-corona
Earth, Planets and Space volume 50, pages 493–499 (1998)
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.
Allen, C. W., Coronal photometry at the eclipse of 1954 June 30, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 116, 69–76, 1956.
Belton, M. J. S., Dynamics of interplanetary dust, Science, 151, 35–44, 1966.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Blackwell, D. E., D. W. Dewhirst, and M. F. Ingham, The zodiacal light, Adv. Astron. Astrophys., 5, 1–69, 1967.
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.
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.
C., D. P., Variability of circumsolar dust ring, Solar Phys., 159, 181–190, 1995.
Durst, J., Two colour photometry and polarimetry of the solar corona of 16 February 1980, Astron. Astrophys., 112, 241–250, 1982.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Isobe, S. and A. Satheesh-Kumar, An explanation for time dependent variability of the solar dust ring, Astrophys. Space Sci., 205, 297–303, 1993a.
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.
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.
Isobe, S., T. Hirayama, N. Baba, and N. Miura, Optical coronal polarization and solar dust ring, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 39, 667–677, 1987.
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.
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.
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.
Krivov, A., I. Mann, and H. Kimura, The circumsolar dust complex and solar magnetic field, Earth Planets Space, 50, this issue, 551–554, 1998a.
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
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.
Leinert, C., H. Link, and E. Pitz, Rocket photometry of the inner zodiacal light, Astron. Astrophys., 30, 411–422, 1974.
Leinert, C., I. Richter, E. Pitz, and M. Hanner, Helios zodiacal light measurements—a tabulated summary, Astron. Astrophys., 110, 355–357, 1982.
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.
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.
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. Å. S. Gustafson and M. S. Hanner, pp. 301–308, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, 1996.
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.
MacQueen, R. M., Infrared observations of the outer solar corona, Astrophys. J., 154, 1059–1076, 1968.
MacQueen, R. M. and B. W. Greeley, Solar coronal dust scattering in the infrared, Astrophys. J., 440, 361–369, 1995.
MacQueen, R. M. and O. C. St. Cyr, Sungrazing comets observed by the Solar Maximum Mission coronagraph, Icarus, 90, 96–106, 1991.
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.
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.
MacQueen, R. M., W. C. Davidson, and I. Mann, M. S. Hanner, pp. 349–352, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, 19
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.
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.
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.
Mankin, W. G., R. M. MacQueen, and R. H. Lee, The coronal radiance in the intermediate infrared, Astron. Astrophys., 31, 17–21, 1974.
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.
Mann, I., The solar F-corona: calculations of the optical and infrared brightness of circumsolar dust, Astron. Astrophys., 261, 329–335, 1992.
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.
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.
Mann, I., Zodiacal cloud complexes, Earth Planets Space, 50, this issue, 465–471, 1998.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mukai, T. and S. Mukai, Temperature and motion of the grains in interplanetary space, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 25, 481–488, 1973.
Mukai, T. and T. Yamamoto, A model of the circumsolar dust cloud, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, 31, 585–595, 1979.
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.
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).
Over, J., On the vaporization of solid particles near the sun, Proc. Kon. Ned. Akad. v. Wetensch., B, 61, 74–84, 1958.
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.
Peterson, A. W., Thermal radiation from interplanetary dust, Astrophys. J., 138, 1218–1230, 1963.
Peterson, A. W., Experimental detection of thermal radiation from interplanetary dust, Astrophys. J., 148, L37–L39, 1967.
Peterson, A. W., The coronal brightness at 2.23 microns, Astrophys. J., 155, 1009–1015, 1969.
Peterson, A. W., A determination of the vaporization temperature of circumsolar dust at 4 R ⊙, Bull. Am. Astr. Soc., 3, 500, 1971.
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.
Russell, H. N., On meteoric matter near the stars, Astrophys. J., 69, 49–71, 1929.
Saito, K., A. I. Poland, and R. H. Munro, A study of the background corona near solar minimum, Solar Phys., 55, 121–134, 1977.
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.
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.
van de Hulst, H. C., Zodiacal light in the solar corona, Astrophys. J., 105, 471–488, 1947.
Waldmeier, M., Ergebnisse der Zürcher Sonnenfinsternisexpedition 1954 VIII. Helligkeitsverteilung und Komponentenzerlegung, Z. Astrophys., 53, 81–94, 1961 (in German).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
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
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352140