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Session 40 - The Interstellar Medium.
Display session, Tuesday, June 09
Atlas Ballroom,
We have investigated the ultraviolet scattering properties of interstellar dust particles by comparing models of the diffuse ultraviolet radiation with intensity measurements at 150 nm carried out using the Dynamics Explorer spacecraft. Intensity measurements were carried out along a great circle that intersects the galactic plane at longitudes of 100 and 280 degrees and covers latitudes from -60 to +60 degrees. After directions containing obvious stars were excluded, intensity data were available for about 400 square degrees. The models assumed a distribution of O and B stars as given in the SKYMAP catalog. The number densities of scattering particles were derived from the Bell Laboratories HI Survey. Model intensities were calculated for each of the directions for which DE data were obtained. The best agreement between the data and models occurs for a particle albedo of 0.45 and a scattering asymmetry factor of 0.5, though the analysis only excludes asymmetry factors near unity.
