Atmospheric aerosol limb scanning based on the lunar eclipses photometry

Abstract

Abstract. The work is devoted to the analysis of the surface photometric observations of two total lunar eclipses in 2004. The lunar surface relative brightness distribution inside the umbra was used to retrieve the vertical distribution of aerosol extinction of the solar radiation expanding by a tangent path and its dependence on the location at the limb of the Earth. The upper altitude of troposphere aerosol layer was estimated for different latitude zones. The correlation between additional aerosol extinction in the upper troposphere and cyclones was investigated.

Trajectory retrieval and component investigations of the southern polar stratosphere based on high-resolution spectroscopy of the totally eclipsed moon surface

“…Photometric analysis of a number of eclipses [6][7][8] in the red and near-infrared spectral range out of atmospheric gases absorption bands had shown that the brightness of the outer umbra part (less than 0.21 from the umbra edge) is usually close to the theoretical value for the gaseous atmosphere model without the aerosol extinction, revealing the clear atmosphere conditions above 10 km. The exceptions occur in the equatorial and tropical atmosphere.…”

“…Refracted solar emission makes the principal contribution to the brightness of the lunar surface. This simplifies the theory and makes it possible to retrieve the additional aerosol and trace gas extinction in the different layers above the limb [6][7][8]. However, the emission scattered in the atmosphere can also be noticeable.…”

Lunar eclipses: Probing the atmosphere of an inhabited planet

“…Photometric measurements obtained with broadband filters are often used to infer properties of the atmospheric aerosol loading [11,17]. Narrowband filters are prefered to probe specific molecular features such as H 2 O [18].…”

Altitude and latitude distribution of atmospheric aerosol and water vapor from the narrow-band lunar eclipse photometry

“…The umbra darkening factor of the point at the angular distance d from the umbra center and position angle PA is equal to [2]:…”

“…However, the reason of such correlation is not found, and the author did not reject it to be occasional. The method of reverse problem solution was suggested in [2] for the observational data of two total lunar eclipses in 2004. The observations were carried out in two-peaked spectral band in red and near-IR ranges mostly avoiding the absorption bands of atmosphere gases.…”