  This book outlines the basic physical principles and practical methods of
polarimetric remote sensing of Solar System objects and summarizes numerous
advanced applications of polarimetry in geophysics and planetary astrophysics.
In the first chapter we present a complete and rigorous theory of
electromagnetic scattering by disperse media directly based on the Maxwell
equations and describe advanced physically based modeling tools. This is
followed, in Chapter 2, by a theoretical analysis of polarimetry as a
remote-sensing tool and an outline of basic principles of polarimetric
measurements and their practical implementations. In Chapters 3 and 4, we
describe the results of extensive ground-based, aircraft, and spacecraft
observations of numerous Solar System objects (the Earth and other planets,
planetary satellites, Saturn's rings, asteroids, trans-Neptunian objects, and
comets). Theoretical analyses of these data are used to retrieve optical and
physical characteristics of planetary surfaces and atmospheres as well as to
identify a number of new phenomena and effects. This monograph is intended for
science professionals, educators, and graduate students specializing in remote
sensing, astrophysics, atmospheric physics, optics of disperse and disordered
media, and optical particle characterization.
