Evidence for dust accumulation just outside the orbit of Venus

TL;DR

This study analyzes zodiacal light data from Helios probes to identify a potential dust ring near Venus's orbit, revealing a slight brightness excess indicative of dust accumulation.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of a dust ring outside Venus's orbit based on space probe observations, expanding understanding of interplanetary dust distribution.

Findings

Detected a few percent brightness excess outside Venus's orbit

Provided evidence for a dust ring associated with Venus's orbit

Used data from Helios space probes from 1975 to 1979

Abstract

To contribute to the knowledge of dynamics of interplanetary dust we are searching for structures in the spatial distribution of interplanetary dust near the orbit of Venus. To this end we study the radial gradient of zodiacal light brightness, as observed by the zodiacal light photometer on board the Helios space probes on several orbits from 1975 to 1979. The cleanest data result from Helios B (= Helios 2) launched in January 1976. With respect to the general increase of zodiacal light brightness towards the Sun, the data show an excess brightness of a few percent for positions of the Helios space probe just outside the orbit of Venus. We consider this as evidence for a dust ring associated with the orbit of Venus, somewhat similar to that found earlier along the Earth's orbit.