Light scattering by cometary dust
A. C. Levasseur-Regourd
- UPMC, LATMOS, BC 102, Université Paris 6, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Observations of sunlight scattered by cometary dust particles provide clues to their properties. Interpretation of the variations of its linear polarization, through laboratory and numerical simulations, suggests that dust particles might be built of both very fluffy aggregates and more compact grains, with significant amount of rather transparent silicates and absorbing materials.