Abstract
EARLIER observations of the polarisation of the sky light during solar eclipses do not agree1. New observations were undertaken in connexion with my polarisation measurements of the solar corona. I observed, during the 1932 eclipse at Gray, Maine, a point of the sky at a distance of 8° from the sun at mid-totality. A Martens polarisation photometer was used, mounted rigidly. The sky was perfectly clear. Whereas comparison curves obtained on several days before and after the eclipse show smooth curves, the polarisation curve of the eclipse day reveals a considerable increase of polarisation during totality. These measurements were repeated during the 1934 eclipse observed at Losap Islands, in the South Seas. Again a point was observed at a distance of 8° from the sun at mid-totality. A half-shadow polarimeter was used. The sky was perfectly clear. The results obtained show again the increase of polarisation during totality against the comparison days.
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References
H. H. Turner and H. F. Newall, Proc. Roy. Soc., 57, 346; 1900. H. F. Newall, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 66, 475; 1906. N. E. Gilbert and J. J. Few, Publ. U.S. Naval Observ., 4, IV, D 218; 1906. N. E. Gilbert, ibid., 10, B 192; 1926.
W. M. Cohn, Z. Phys., 75, 544; 1932.
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COHN, W. Polarisation and Spectrum of the Sky Light during the Total Solar Eclipses of August 31, 1932, and February 14, 1934. Nature 134, 99 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134099a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134099a0
