Abstract
The Moon can be used as a stable calibration source for on-orbit satellite instruments. This has been enabled by comprehensive work that characterized and modeled the lunar irradiance as a function of wavelength, phase angle, and libration angle. However, the polarization state of the Moon must also be known to enable on-orbit lunar calibration of polarization-sensitive instruments. In prior work, the disk-averaged degree of linear polarization of the Moon as a function of phase angle was measured in ultraviolet and visible spectral bands. Additionally, disk-resolved degree of linear polarization measurements, including point measurements of various lunar regions and images, have been reported for ultraviolet to near infrared bands. In this talk, we report measurements of disk-averaged degree of linear polarization in three visible (450-nm, 520-nm, and 650-nm) and two near infrared (800-nm and 900-nm) bands, calculated from disk-resolved polarization images of the Moon. The visible measurements agree well with previously published disk-averaged values, and to our knowledge, we report the first systematic study of the Moon polarization as a function of phase angle in near infrared bands.
Polarization of the Moon in Visible and Infrared Spectral Bands as a Function of Phase Angle
The Moon can be used as a stable calibration source for on-orbit satellite instruments. This has been enabled by comprehensive work that characterized and modeled the lunar irradiance as a function of wavelength, phase angle, and libration angle. However, the polarization state of the Moon must also be known to enable on-orbit lunar calibration of polarization-sensitive instruments. In prior work, the disk-averaged degree of linear polarization of the Moon as a function of phase angle was measured in ultraviolet and visible spectral bands. Additionally, disk-resolved degree of linear polarization measurements, including point measurements of various lunar regions and images, have been reported for ultraviolet to near infrared bands. In this talk, we report measurements of disk-averaged degree of linear polarization in three visible (450-nm, 520-nm, and 650-nm) and two near infrared (800-nm and 900-nm) bands, calculated from disk-resolved polarization images of the Moon. The visible measurements agree well with previously published disk-averaged values, and to our knowledge, we report the first systematic study of the Moon polarization as a function of phase angle in near infrared bands.