Scattering and absorption of light occurs in practically all systems of matter and electromagnetic radiation. The measurement, observation, and theoretical modeling of this interaction provides information about the system's physical and chemical properties down to length scales of a fraction of the wavelength. In the project, numerical forward and inverse methods as well as experiments are developed for scattering within media of small cosmic particles near or on large particles, with structures over length scales of six orders of magnitude. Observations of planetary objects, such as asteroids, Phobos, Mercury, the Earth, and exoplanets are interpreted using the models and experiments. The project culminates in the interpretation of unique observations of planetary objects by the ESA Gaia mission and by ground-based observatories, such as the Nordic Optical Telescope and telescopes at the European Southern Observatory, at ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths of light.

2021

2026