Modelling the IRAS Zodiacal Emission
- M. Rowan-Robinson, J. Hughes, K. Vedi,
D. W. Walker
- Astronomy Unit
- Queen Mary and Westfield College
- Mile End Road
- London E1 4NS
- U. K.
Abstract
Using version 3 of the IRAS Zodiacal History File, we investigated the spatial
distribution of zodiacal dust at distances greater than 0.9 AU from the Sun. After
investigating several hundred models for the density distribution of the
interplanetary dust, the best fit to the data at |beta| > 15 degrees was found to be a
simple fan model with a=4.9. The inclination of the symmetry plane of the dust to the
ecliptic plane was found to be i=1.1 degrees, and the longitude of its ascending node
was Omega=79 degrees. An isotropic 100 micron component was included in the model,
but its magnitude, 2.2 MJy/sr, is not considered to be statistically significant in the
light of the +/-1.6 MJy/sr uncertainty in the IRAS calibration at 100 microns.
M. Rowan-Robinson, J. Hughes, K. Vedi, and D. W, Walker,
Modelling the IRAS Zodiacal Emission,
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 246, pages 273-278, 1990.