Modeling the Cosmic Ultraviolet Background at the North Galactic Pole

I explore models of the dust-scattered component of the Cosmic Ultraviolet Background (CUVB) at the North Galactic Pole (NGP) in order to develop a framework for calculating the dust-scattered light as a function of the optical depths. As expected, I find that the dust-scattered emission scales linearly with reddening up to E(B-V) ≈ 0.1\ mag and derive a parametric model for this dependence. I have applied these models to fit the far-ultraviolet (1350--1800 Å) observations from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) finding that the optical constants of the interstellar dust grains -- albedo (a) and phase function asymmetry factor (g) -- are consistent with predictions from the Astrodust model ($a = 0.33$, $g = 0.68$). I detect an isotropic offset of 267 ± 7 ph cm⁻² s⁻¹ sr⁻¹ Å⁻¹, half of which remains unaccounted for by known Galactic or extragalactic sources. I will now extend my analysis to wider sky regions with the goal of generating high-resolution extinction maps.