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S. F. Dermott (University of Florida)
The sources of dust in the solar system, in order of importance, are: (1) asteroids; (2) short period comets; (3) Kuiper belt comets and (4) interstellar dust. The aim of our study is to produce models of the distribution of dust particles of various diameters from these sources that will allow us to produce all-sky maps of the associated thermal flux in the various SIRTF wavebands. Our zodiacal cloud has three distinct components: (1) the broad-scale background cloud; (2) the dust bands in the asteroid belt, and (3) the Earth's resonant dust ring. Thermal flux maps for these sources can be produced from IRAS and COBE data, but these will not be adequate for interpreting the SIRTF data because the location of SIRTF with respect to the Earth will change continuously throughout the lifetime of the mission. In particular, the spacecraft will drift slowly through the cloud of dust particles that is believed to trail the Earth in its orbit. It is essential that a physically derived model of the distribution of dust is produced that will allow us to cope with the difficulties and opportunities afforded by the special orbit of SIRTF.