Circular Polarization of the Nightsky Radiation

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• Kemp, James C.

Abstract

The fractional circular polarization, q, of the night sky has been measured in 13 directions. Definite values (at least 3 ff) were found in four regions of the zodiacal light and two areas of the Milky Way. The values of q, when corrected for foreground radiation, range from -0.6 to +0.5 percent and agree well with results reported recently by Staude, Wolf, and Schmidt. Scattering of light by nonspherical particles that are partially aligned can explain these observations.