COBE/DIRBE observations of infrared emission from stars and dust

Abstract

The Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) on NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite has obtained low‐angular resolution photometric maps of the full sky in ten broad spectral bands from 1.2 to 240 μm wavelength, and linear polarization maps at 1.2, 2.3, and 3.5 μm. These maps provide dramatic new views of the interplanetary dust cloud, integrated stellar light, and dust in the interstellar medium. An empirical function is used to separate the contribution from interplanetary dust, facilitating study of the stellar and interstellar emissions from the plane of the Milky Way. Initial results of such studies are presented in accompanying papers.