Night sky polarization model for a cloud-free atmosphere illuminated by ground-based light sources
- Autor(en)
- M. Kocifaj, P. Markoš, F. Kundracik, J. C. Barentine, S. Wallner
- Abstrakt
Skyglow from sources of artificial light at night poses a significant challenge to ground-based astronomical research and discovery. Although astronomers, conservationists, and light-pollution researchers have measured skyglow for decades, their data on diffuse night-time light fields are incomplete as they lacks information about the polarization state of the light. Here, we present the first successful theoretical model that predicts the degree and angle of linear polarization of scattered night sky light and accounts for complex, real-world distributions of ground light sources. The model proceeds from an analytical solution to the polarized radiative transfer equation that is validated by field experiments. We discuss several use cases of the model and demonstrate its practical consequences, such as the ability to more reliably determine which ground sources in the area around an observer contribute the most scattered light in a given sky element.
- Organisation(en)
- Institut für Astrophysik
- Externe Organisation(en)
- Slovak Academy of Sciences, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave
- Journal
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Band
- 532
- Seiten
- 4864-4875
- Anzahl der Seiten
- 12
- ISSN
- 0035-8711
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae1803
- Publikationsdatum
- 08-2024
- Peer-reviewed
- Ja
- ÖFOS 2012
- 103003 Astronomie, 103004 Astrophysik, 105906 Umweltgeowissenschaften
- Schlagwörter
- ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
- Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
- Link zum Portal
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/3d1698d7-9788-42b8-b5f0-1cc5cb0c2627