Zodiacal Light Observation at Mauna Kea, Hawaii

在2000-2003年期间，在夏威夷的莫纳克亚山顶进行了7次黄道光观测。在2000年的第一个财政年度，神户集团研制了一种新型的制冷CCD成像仪--带阵列探测器的黄道光广场成像仪(WIZER)，并对其性能进行了测试。从下一财政年度起，其经修订的高质量CCD成像仪(向导)取得了如下所示的丰硕成果1。我们的ZL观测已经在可见光波长以及小行星尘埃带中发现了彗星尘埃。观测到了Gegenschein亮度中心的季节性变化。我们发现，来自小行星尘埃带的前景发射的影响在确定亮度中心的精确位置方面起着重要作用。我们从原始数据中去掉了由尘带引起的这样一个分量，揭示了gegenschein中心的季节变化可以用云模型的对称面沿着太阳系的变化面来解释。在广泛的太阳伸长角范围内观测到的黄道光亮度表明，云模型由空间成分的复杂混合物组成。迫切需要对ZL亮度进行进一步监测。我们无法证实红外线卫星发现的与地球的共振云的存在。需要用更大的S/N值进一步观察，才能得出它在可见光中的存在

In the period of 2000-2003, 7 observations of the zodiacal light (ZL) were performed at a summit of Mauna Kea at Hawaii. In the first fiscal year of 2000, a new cooled CCD imager developed in Kobe group, named as Wide-field Imager of Zodiacal light with Array Detector (WIZARD)), had been examined its performance. Its revised high quality CCD imager (WIZARD) has provided fruitful results, shown below, from the next fiscal year.1. The cometary dust trails have been discovered in the visible wavelengths, as well as the asteroidal dust bands by our ZL observations.2. A seasonal variation of the brightness center of the Gegenschein has been detected. We found the effect of the foreground emission from the asteroidal dust bands plays an important role in determination of the precise position of the brightness center. Our removal of such a component caused by the dust bands from our raw data revealed that the seasonal variation of the Gegenschein's center can be explained by the cloud model having its symmetry plane along the in variant plane of the solar system.3. The zodiacal light brightness observed in a wide range of solar elongation angles suggests that the cloud model consists of a complex mixture of the spatial components. Further monitoring of the ZL brightness is strongly needed.4. We could not confirm the existence of resonance cloud with the Earth, which was found by the Infrared Satellite. Further observations with more large S/N values are necessary to conclude its existence in the visible