Modelling artificial night-sky brightness with a polarized multiple scattering radiative transfer computer code

Abstract

As part of an ongoing investigation of radiative effects produced by hazy atmospheres, computational procedures have been developed for use in determining the brightening of the night sky as a result of urban illumination. The downwardly and upwardly directed radiances of multiply scattered light from an offending metropolitan source are computed by a straightforward Gauss-Seidel (G-S) iterative technique applied directly to the integrated form of Chandrasekhar's vectorized radiative transfer equation. Initial benchmark night-sky brightness tests of the present G-S model using fully consistent optical emission and extinction input parameters yield very encouraging results when compared with the double scattering treatment of Garstang, the only full-fledged previously available model. © 2005 RAS.