We present the results of four observations of the sky in the directio
n of the Coalsack nebula. These observations were made using the ultra
violet spectrometers aboard the two Voyager spacecraft in the spectral
range between 912 and 1600 angstrom. Intense diffuse emission with a
spectrum characteristic of an early B star was observed in all four ta
rgets, which we interpret as starlight forward scattered by interstell
ar dust in the fore-ground of the main mass of the Coalsack. While mor
e detailed modeling is necessary to derive values for the optical cons
tants of the dust grains, our data indicate that there is no decrease
in the albedo toward shorter wavelengths, arguing that the far-ultravi
olet rise in the interstellar extinction curve is due to an increasing
number density of small particles rather than to a new population of
low albedo grains.