Observational confirmation of a circumsolar dust ring by the COBE satellite
Observational confirmation of a circumsolar dust ring by the COBE satellite
复制标题
COBE卫星对日环尘埃环的观测证实
作者：
W. Reach;B. Franz;J. Weiland;M. Hauser;T. Kelsall;E. L. Wright;G. Rawleyt;S. W. Stemwedel;W. Spiesman
小行星碰撞是黄道云中尘埃颗粒的重要来源。这些粒子在阻力的影响下螺旋向太阳方向运动4 - 6，在穿过太阳系内部时，受到行星的引力扰动，这可能使它们（至少暂时）陷入轨道共振7 - 10。最近，数值模拟表明，与地球的共振在捕获小行星尘埃方面特别有效，这导致了地球可能被埋在环绕太阳的尘埃环中的说法。据预测，这个环的方位结构是不对称的，在地球后面的区域比在地球前面的区域密度大得多。这一预测在定性和定量上都与红外天文卫星（IRAS）观测到的黄道光不对称性一致11,12，但IRAS数据本身由于校准的不确定性和延伸角的稀疏覆盖而模糊不清12。在这里，我们报告了宇宙背景探测卫星（COBE）14上的漫射红外背景实验（DIRBE）的观测结果，这些观测结果证实了这个环的存在及其对近地结构的预测。
ASTEROID collisions are an important source of the dust particles in the zodiacal cloud1–3. These particles spiral in towards the Sun under the influence of drag forces4–6 and, in passing through the inner Solar System, are subject to gravitational perturbations by the planets, which may trap them (at least temporarily) in orbital resonances7–10. Recently, numerical simulations have shown that resonances with the Earth are particularly effective at trapping asteroidal dust, leading to the suggestion that the Earth may be embedded in a circumsolar ring of dust11. The azimuthal structure of this ring was predicted to be asymmetric, with the region trailing the Earth being substantially more dense than that in the leading direction11. This prediction is in both qualitative and quantitative agreement with the asymmetry in zodiacal light observed by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS)11,12, but the IRAS data alone are equivocal because of calibration uncertainties and sparse coverage of elongation angle12. Here we report observations by the Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment13 (DIRBE) on the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE)14, which confirm both the existence of this ring and the predictions of its near-Earth structure.