Bibcode
Leinert, Ch.; Ábrahám, P.; Acosta-Pulido, J.; Lemke, D.; Siebenmorgen, R.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.393, p.1073-1079 (2002)
Advertised on:
10
2002
Journal
Citations
27
Refereed citations
22
Description
We present 29 mid-infrared spectra of the zodiacal light distributed
over the sky. The observed 5.9-11.7 mu m spectral shapes are well
represented by blackbody radiation with colour temperatures in the range
of 255<= T<= 300 K. The spectra are smooth and featureless. The
variation of the temperature can be explained by the geometrical
distribution of dust in the inner solar system. This result indicates
that although the interplanetary dust particles originate from discrete
sources (comets, asteroids) the interplanetary cloud of today seems to
be well mixed in terms of grain composition and size distribution. Based
on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA
member states (especially the PI countries France, Germany, The
Netherlands and the UK) with participation of ISAS and NASA.