Abstract
We present a review on polarimetric properties of small Solar system bodies. The main results of polarimetric investigations of asteroids, comets, transneptunian objects and Centaurs are discussed focusing on recent findings. We also discuss the polarimetric observations of dust clouds in our Solar system.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Arago JF (1858) Les comètes. In: L’Astronomie populaire. Gide, Paris
Avramchuk VV, Rakhimov VIu, Chernova GP, Shavlovskii VI (1992) Photometry and polarimetry of Pluto near its perihelion. Kinematics Phys Celest Bodies 8:30–37
Bagnulo S, Boehnhardt H, Muinonen K, Kolokolova L, Belskaya I, Barucci MA (2006) Exploring the surface properties of Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs with polarimetric FORS1/VLT observations. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20054518
Bagnulo S, Belskaya I, Muinonen K, Tozzi GP, Barucci MA, Kolokolova L, Fornasier S (2008) Discovery of two distinct polarimetric behaviours of trans-Neptunian objects. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:200810938
Bagnulo S, Tozzi GP, Boehnhardt H, Vincent J-B, Muinonen K (2010) Polarimetry and photometry of the peculiar main-belt object 7968=133P/Elst-Pizarro. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200913339
Bagnulo S, Belskaya I, Boehnhardt H, Kolokolova L, Muinonen K, Sterzik M, Tozzi G-P (2011) Polarimetry of small objects of the solar system with large telescope. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2011.05.004
Bagnulo S, Cellino A, Sterzik MF (2015) Linear spectropolarimetry: a new diagnostic tool for the classification and characterisation of asteroids. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slu154
Bagnulo S, Belskaya I, Cellino A, Kolokolova L (2017) Polarimetry of small bodies and satellites of our Solar System. Europhys Phys J Plus. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2017-11690-6
Belskaya IN et al (2005) The F-type asteroids with small inversion angles of polarisation. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2005.04.015
Belskaya I, Bagnulo S, Muinonen K, Barucci MA, Tozzi GP, Fornasier S, Kolokolova L (2008) Polarimetry of the dwarf planet (136199) Eris. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20078241
Belskaya IN, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Cellino A, Efimov YS, Shakhovskoy NM, Hadamcik E, Bendjoya Ph (2009) Polarimetry of main belt asteroids: wavelength dependence. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2008.09.010
Belskaya IN, Bagnulo S, Barucci MA, Muinonen K, Tozzi GP, Fornasier S, Kolokolova L (2010) Polarimetry of Centaurs (2060) Chiron, (5145) Pholus and (10199) Chariklo. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2010.06.005
Belskaya IN, Bagnulo S, Stinson A, Tozzi GP, Muinonen K, Shkuratov YuG, Barucci MA, Fornasier S (2012) Polarimetry of trans-Neptunian objects (136472) Makemake and (90482) Orcus. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201220202
Belskaya I, Cellino A, Gil-Hutton R, Muinonen K, Shkuratov Y (2015) Asteroid polarimetry. In: Michel P et al (eds) Asteroids IV. University of Arizona, Tucson, pp 151–163
Belskaya IN et al (2017) Refining the asteroid taxonomy by polarimetric observations. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.11.003
Boehnhardt H, Bagnulo S, Muinonen K, Barucci MA, Kolokolova L, Dotto E, Tozzi GP (2004) Surface characterisation of 28978 Ixion (2001 KX76). Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20040005
Boehnhardt H, Tozzi GP, Bagnulo S, Muinonen K, Nathues A, Kolokolova L (2008) Photometry and polarimetry of the nucleus of comet 2P/Encke. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:200809922
Borisov G et al (2018) Rotational variation of the linear polarisation of the asteroid (3200) Phaethon as evidence for inhomogeneity in its surface properties. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/sly140
Breger M, Cochran WD (1982) Polarimetry of Pluto. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-1035(82)90061-6
Carrillo-Sánchez JD, Nesvorny D, Pokorny JD, Plane JMC (2016) Sources of cosmic dust in the Earth’s atmosphere. Geophys Res Lett. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071697
Cellino A, Yoshida F, Anderlucci E, Bendjoya P, Di Martino M, Ishiguro M, Nakamura AM, Saito J (2005) A polarimetric study of asteroid 25143 Itokawa. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2005.08.005
Cellino A, Belskaya IN, Bendjoya Ph, Di Martino M, Gil-Hutton R, Muinonen K, Tedesco EF (2006) The strange polarimetric behavior of asteroid (234) Barbara. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2005.09.001
Cellino A, Gil-Hutton R, Belskaya I (2015a) Polarimetry of asteroids. In: Kolokolova L, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hough J (eds) Polarimetry of stars and planetary systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 360–37
Cellino A, Bagnulo S, Gil-Hutton R, Tanga P, Canada-Assandri M, Tedesco EF (2015b) On the calibration of the relation between geometric albedo and polarimetric properties for the asteroids. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv1188
Cellino A et al (2016) The Dawn exploration of (4) Vesta as the ground truth to interpret asteroid polarimetry. Mon Not R Astron Soc 456. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2683
Cellino A, Bagnulo S, Belskaya IN, Christou AA (2018) Unusual polarimetric properties of (101955) Bennu: similarities with F-class asteroids and cometary bodies. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/sly156
Chernova GP, Kiselev NN, Jockers K (1993) Polarimetric characteristics of dust particles as observed in 13 comets: comparison with asteroids. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1006/icar.1993.1063
De Luise F et al (2007) Physical investigation of the potentially hazardous asteroid (144898) 2004 VD17. Icarus 191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2007.05.018
Devogèle M et al (2018a) New polarimetric and spectroscopic evidence of anomalous enrichment in spinel-bearing calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions among L-type asteroids. Icarus 304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.026
Devogèle M et al (2018b) The phase-polarisation curve of asteroid (3200) Phaethon. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1587
Dlugach JM, Ivanova OV, Mishchenko MI, Afanasiev VL (2018) Retrieval of microphysical characteristics of particles in atmospheres of distant comets from ground-based polarimetry. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2017.10.002
Dollfus A, Bastien P, Le Borgne JL, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Mukai T (1988) Optical polarimetry of P/Halley: synthesis of the measurements in the continuum. Astron Astrophys 206:348–356
Dollfus A, Wolff M, Geake JE, Lupishko DF, Dougherty LM (1989) Photo-polarimetry of asteroids. In: Binzel RP, Gehrels T, Matthews MS (eds) Asteroids II. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 594–616
Dougherty IM, Geake JE (1994) Polarisation by frost formed at very low temperatures, as relevant to icy planetary surfaces. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/271.2.343
Dumont R (1973) Phase function and polarisation of interplanetary scatters from zodiacal light photopolarimetry. Planet Space Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-0633(73)90189-X
Fornasier S, Beskaya IN, Perna D (2015) The potentially hazardous asteroid 2007 PA8: an unweathered L chondrite analogue surface. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2014.12.015
Gil-Hutton R, García-Migani E (2017) Polarimetric survey of main-belt asteroids. VI. New results from the second epoch of the CASLEO survey. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201731388
Gil-Hutton R, Mesa V, Cellino A, Bendjoya Ph, Penaloza L, Lovos F (2008) New cases of unusual polarimetric behavior in asteroids. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20078965
Gil-Hutton R, López-Sisterna C, Calandra MF (2017) Polarimetric survey of main-belt asteroids. V. The unusual polarimetric behavior of V-type asteroids. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201628485
Grün E et al (2016) The 2016 Feb 19 outburst of comet 67P/CG: an ESA multi-instrument study. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2088
Hadamcik E, Levasseur-Regourd AC (2003) Imaging polarimetry of cometary dust: different comets and phase angles. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf. 79:661–678
Hadamcik E, Levasseur-Regourd AC (2016) Imaging polarimetry of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 main fragments during its 2006 apparition. Planet Space Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2015.12.01
Hadamcik E, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Renard JB (1997) CCD imaging polarimetry of comet Hale-Bopp. Earth Moon Planets. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006206613959
Hadamcik E, Sen AK, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Gupta R, Lasue J (2010) Polarimetric observations of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during its 2008–2009 apparition. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201014167
Hadamcik E, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hines DC, Sen AK, Lasue J (2016) Photometric and polarimetric observations of 67P: clues to cometary dust properties in comparison with Rosetta results. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx030
Hadamcik E, Lasue J, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Renard J-B (2019) Analogues of interplanetary dust particles to interpret the zodiacal light polarisation. Planet Space Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2018.04.022
Hines DC, Levasseur-Regourd AC (2016) Polarimetry observations of comets: status, questions, future pathways. Planet Space Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2015.11.016
Ishiguro M et al (2017) Polarimetric study of Near-Earth asteroid (1566) Icarus. Astron J. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa8b1a
Ito T et al (2018) Extremely strong polarisation of an active asteroid (3200) Phaethon. Nature Commun 9:2486
Kaasalainen S, Piironen J, Kaasalainen M, Harris AW, Muinonen K, Cellino A (2003) Asteroid photometric and polarimetric phase curves: empirical interpretation. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-1035(02)00020-9
Kelsey JD, Fix LA (1973) Polarimetry of Pluto. Astrophys J 184:633–636
Kiselev N, Velichko F (1997) Aperture polarimetry and photometry of comet Hale-Bopp. Earth Moon Planets. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006246310324
Kiselev NN, Rosenbush VK, Jockers K, Velichko FP, Shakhovskoy NM, Efimov YS, Lupishko DF, Rumyantsev VV (2002) Polarimetry of near-Earth asteroid 33342 (1998 WT24). Synthetic phase angle dependence of polarisation for the E-type asteroids. In: Warmbein B (ed) Proceedings of asteroids, comets, meteors – ACM 2002, ESA SP-500. Noordwijk, Netherlands, pp 887–890
Kiselev N, Rosenbush V, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Kolokolova L (2015) Comets. In: Kolokolova L, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hough J (eds) Polarimetry of stars and planetary systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107358249.022
Kiselev N, Afanasiev V, Petrov D, Rosenbush V (2018) Unusual properties of asteroid (3200) Phaethon from polarimetric observations and modelling. In: EPSC Abstracts 12, EPSC2018-504
Kolokolova L, Hough J, Levasseur-Regourd AC (eds) (2015) Polarimetry of stars and planetary systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107358249
Kordylewski K (1961) Photographische Untersuchungen des Libration Punktes im System Erde-Mond. Acta Astron 11:165
Kuroda D et al (2018) Significantly high polarisation degree of the very low-albedo asteroid (152679) 1998 KU2. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732086
Lasue J, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Fray N, Cottin H (2007) Inferring the interplanetary dust properties from remote observations and simulations. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20077623
Lasue J, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hadamcik E, Alcouffe G (2009) Cometary dust properties retrieved from polarisation observations, Application to C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp and 1P/Halley. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2008.09.008
Lasue J, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Lazarian A (2015) Interplanetary dust. In: Kolokolova L, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hough J (eds) Polarimetry of stars and planetary systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107358249.024
Levasseur-Regourd AC (1992) Natural background radiation, the light of the night sky. In: McNally D (ed) The vanishing universe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 64–68
Levasseur-Regourd AC (2010) Inferring properties of dust within solar system small bodies through observations and simulations of the linear polarisation of scattered solar-light. In: Mischchenko MI et al (eds) Polarimetric detection, characterisation, and remote sensing, Springer, Dordrecht, pp 295–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1636-0
Levasseur-Regourd AC, Dumont R, Renard J-B (1990) A comparison between polarimetric properties of cometary dust and interplanetary dust particles. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-1035(90)90215-U
Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hadamcik E, Renard JB (1996) Evidence for two classes of comets from their polarimetric properties at large phase angles. Astron Astrophys 313:327–333
Levasseur-Regourd AC, McBride N, Hadamcik E, Fulle M (1999) Similarities between in situ measurements of local dust scattering and dust flux impact data within the coma of 1P/Halley. Astron Astrophys 348:636–641
Levasseur-Regourd AC, Mann I, Dumont R, Hanner M (2001) Optical and thermal properties of cometary dust. In: Grün E et al (eds) Interplanetary dust. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56428-4
Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hadamcik E, Lasue J (2005) Light scattering as a clue to cometary dust structure. Highlights Astron 13:498–500. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1539299600016415
Levasseur-Regourd AC, Agarwal J, Cottin H, Engrand C, Flynn G, Fulle M, Gombosi T, Langevin Y, Lasue J, Mannel T, Merouane S, Poch O, Thomas N, Westphal A (2018) Cometary dust. Space Sci Rev. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-018-0496-3
Lumme K, Muinonen K (1993) A two-parameter system for linear polarization of some solar system objects. In: IAU symposium 160, asteroids, comets, meteors (Abstract), p 194
Lupishko DF (ed) (2017) Asteroid Polarimetric Database V9.0.EAR-A-3-RDR APDPOLARIMETRY – V9.0. NASA Planetary Data System, Washington
Lupishko DF (2018) Generalized calibration of the polarimetric albedo scale of asteroids. Solar Syst Res. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0038094618010069
Lyot B (1929) Recherches sur la polarisation de la lumière des planètes et de quelques substances terrestres. Ann Obs Meudon 8:161
Mannel T, Bentley MS, Schmied R, Jeszenszky H, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Romstedt J, Torkar K (2016) Fractal cometary dust a window to the early Solar System. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2898
Masiero J, Cellino A (2009) Polarisation of asteroid (387) Aquitania: the newest member of a class of large inversion angle asteroids. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2008.10.003
Meyers RV, Nordsieck KH (1984) Spectropolarimetry of comets Austin and Churyumov Gerasimenko. Icarus 58:431–439
Mishchenko MI, Rosenbush VK, Kiselev NN, Lupishko DF, Tishkovets VP, Kaydash VG, Belskaya IN, Efimov YS, Shakhovskoy NM (2010) Polarimetric remote sensing of solar system objects. Akademperiodyka, Kyiv. https://doi.org/10.15407/akademperiodyka.134.291
Muinonen K, Penttilla A, Cellino A, Belskaya IN, Delbo M, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Tedesco EF (2009) Asteroid photometric and polarimetric phase curves: joint linear-exponential modelling. Meteorit Planet Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1945-5100.2009.tb02003.x
Muñoz O, Moreno F, Vargas-Martin F, Guirado D, Escobar-Cerezo J, Min M, Hovenier JW (2017) Experimental phase functions of millimeter-sized cosmic dust grains. Astrophys J. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa7ff2
Nesvorný D, Jenniskens P, Levison HF, Bottke WF, Vokrouhlicky D, Gounelle M (2010) Cometary origin of the zodiacal cloud and carbonaceous micrometeorites. Implications for hot debris disks. Astrophys J. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/713/2/816
Penttila A, Lumme K, Hadamcik E, Levasseur-Regourd A-C (2005) Statistical analysis of asteroidal and cometary polarisation phase curves. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20042133
Petrov DV, Kiselev NN (2017) Positive branch of asteroid polarisation: observational data and computer modelling. Solar Syst Res. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0038094617040049
Poch O, Cerubini R, Pommerol A, Jost B, Thomas N (2018) Polarimetry of water ice particles providing insights on grain size and degree of sintering on icy planetary surfaces. J Geophys Res Planets. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JE005753
Reach WT, Kelley MS, Sykes MV (2007) A survey of debris trails from short-period comets. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2007.03.031Phaethon
Renard J-B, Hadamcik E, Couté B, Jeannot M, Levasseur-Regourd AC (2014) Wavelength dependence of linear polarisation in the visible and near infrared domain for large levitating grains (PROGRA2 instruments). J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf 146:424–430
Rosenbush V, Kiselev N, Afanasiev V (2015) Icy moons of the outer planets. In: Kolokolova L, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Hough J (eds) Polarimetry of stars and planetary systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 340–359. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107358249.020
Rosenbush VK, Ivanova OV, Kiselev NN, Kolokolova LO, Afanasiev VL (2017) Spatial variations of brightness, colour and polarisation of dust in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Mon Not R Astron Soc. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2003
Rousselot P, Levasseur-Regourd AC, Muinonen K, Petit J-M (2005) Polarimetric and photometric phase effects observed on transneptunian object (29981) 1999 TD10. Earth Moon Planets. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11038-006-9079-5
Rowan-Robinson M, May B (2016) An improved model for the infrared emission from the zodiacal dust cloud. Mon Not R Astron Soc 429:2894–2902
Shinnaka Y, Kasuga T, Furusho R, Boice DC, Terai T, Noda H, Namiki N, Watanabe J (2018) Inversion angle of phase-polarisation curve of Near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon. Astrophys J Lett. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aadb3d
Sierks H et al (2016) On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1044
Slitz-Balogh J, Barta A, Horvath G (2018) Celestial mechanics and polarisation optics of the Kordylewski dust cloud in the Earth-Moon Lagrange point L5 Part I. Mon Not R Astron Soc 480:5550–5559
Slitz-Balogh J, Barta A, Horvath G (2019) Celestial mechanics and polarisation optics of the Kordylewski dust cloud in the Earth-Moon Lagrange point L5 Part II. Mon Not R Astron Soc 482:762–770
Snodgrass C et al (2017) The 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observation campaign in support of the Rosetta mission. Philos Trans R Soc. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2016.0249
Stinson A et al (2016) Polarimetry of comets 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh, and 152P/Helin-Lawrence. Astron Astrophys. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201527696
Umov N (1905) Chromatische Depolarisation durch Lichtzerstereuung. Phys Z 6:674–676
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Belskaya, I., Cellino, A., Levasseur-Regourd, AC., Bagnulo, S. (2019). Optical Polarimetry of Small Solar System Bodies: From Asteroids to Debris Disks. In: Mignani, R., Shearer, A., Słowikowska, A., Zane, S. (eds) Astronomical Polarisation from the Infrared to Gamma Rays. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 460. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19715-5_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19715-5_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-19714-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-19715-5
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)