Polarimetry Of Comet Hale-Bopp: Linear And Circular Polarization, Stellar Occultation

Comet Hale-Bopp was observed with the 2.6-m and 1.25-m telescopes of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory on March 9 and 11, 1997. We determined the linear and circular polarization in the coma. For the dust coma, the linear polarization varied from 7.8% to 12.4%. The degree of circular polarization was always negative and did not exceed 0.3% with an accuracy of ±0.04% on average. The passage of a bright star through the cometary coma was monitored with polarimetry and photometry. The wavelength dependence and spatial variations of optical thickness of dust are obtained from the stellar occultation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.