Study of the radiation of equatorial noctilucent clouds in the mid-UV spectral region

This paper analyzes the results of a study of noctilucent clouds obtained b y cosmonauts V. G. Titov and M. Kh. Minarov using the Pegas UV camera on bo ard the Mir space station in 1988. Photographs of equatorial noctilucent cl ouds on the background of the earth's disk at a wavelength of 0.28 mum with a spectral width of 0.025 mum made it possible to measure and compare the spectral radiance densities of the noctilucent clouds and of the cloudless atmosphere. It is noted that there are more noctilucent clouds over the sea than over dry land. (C) 2001 The Optical Society of America.