Study of galactic light, extragalactic light, and galactic structure using pioneer 10 observations of background starlight

An observational and theoretical study of the diffuse astronomical background sky brightness (background starlight) is carried out. The brightness is determined over 95% of the sky using Pioneer 10 photometric measurements in sky regions where the zodiacal light is negligible (heliocentric distances approx. greater than or equal to 3. A.U.). Brightness levels are presented at blue (3950 to 4850 A) and red (5900 to 6800 A) wavelengths. The B-R color index distribution is established over the celestial sphere. Pioneer 10 results are compared with previous star count and ground based photometric studies to separate background starlight into its constituent parts: integrated starlight, diffuse galactic light (DGL), and cosmic light. Significant errors are found in published star count results at low galactic latitudes. The galactic latitude (b'') and longitude (1'') dependences of integrated starlight and the variation of DGL with b'' are determined. An upper limit of 3.9 S10(V)/sub G2V/ at the 90% confidence level is deduced for the cosmic light brightness at blue wavelengths near the galactic poles. The integrated light from discrete galaxies adequately explains this component of the background starlight