IOP PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF OPTICS A: PURE AND APPLIED OPTICS

J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000 (10pp) UNCORRECTED PROOF

Study of sunshine, skyshine, and

earthshine for aircraft infrared detection
Shripad P Mahulikar1, Santosh K Potnuru and G Arvind Rao2
Ascii/Word/JOA/
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, PO IIT Powai, joa282716/PAP
Mumbai 400076, India Printed 30/12/2008
Spelling UK
E-mail: spm@aero.iitb.ac.in
Issue no
Total pages
Received 5 June 2008, accepted for publication 5 December 2008 First page
Published Last page
Online at stacks.iop.org/JOptA/11/000000 File name
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Abstract Artnum
Investigations are reported on infrared (IR) signature studies from internal sources of aircraft Cover date
and helicopters, e.g. engine heated surfaces and exhaust plume. Due to the increasing
sensitivities of IR sensors, irradiances from external sources are investigated here, namely
sunshine, skyshine, and earthshine. Their role in determining the IR contrast in the 1.9–2.9,
3–5, and 8–12 μm bands is studied. Estimation of earthshine is emphasized because of its
tactical significance in low altitude missions and IR imaging studies. A comparison of IR
radiance from aircraft’s rear fuselage due to internal and external sources shows different roles
in the 3–5 and 8–12 μm bands. The important roles of earthshine and temperature-based
radiance of aircraft surfaces are identified in the 8–12 μm band.

Keywords: earthshine, infrared imaging, infrared signature, low observables, skyshine, sunshine
(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

Nomenclature θ zenith angle (deg, rad)

τ transmissivity (—)
A area (m2 ) ω subtended solid angle (Sr)
E irradiance (W m−2 ) Subscripts
eλ1−λ2 black body emission in wavelength ac-de visible aircraft surface (ac) as seen by IR
band λ1 –λ2 (W m−2 ) detector (de) below it
Fi− j radiation view factor of surface j as
seen by surface i av average
h target altitude/height (km) ed-ac earth-disc (ed) as seen by visible aircraft
k extinction coefficient (m−1 ) surface (ac)
L radiance (W m−2 ) eed-ac elemental earth-disc (eed) as seen by
l beam-length (m) visible aircraft surface
N number of discretized elements gr ground
R radius (m) max corresponding to maximum emission
T temperature (◦ C, K) s solar parameter
Greek Scripts sl in slant direction
α semi-cone angle subtended by v in vertical direction
earth-disc at aircraft (deg, rad) 0–h from ground (0) to altitude h
ε emissivity (—) λ spectral
λ wavelength (μm) ω directional (per unit solid angle)
Abbreviations
1 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. A von Humboldt
BRDF Bi-directional reflectance distribution
Fellow.
function
2 Present address: Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, T U Delft, IR Infrared
The Netherlands. IRSL IR signature level

1464-4258/09/000000+10$30.00 1 © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000
LOWTRAN Low resolution atmospheric transmission
NDVI Normalized difference vegetation index
NIRATAM NATO IR air target model
SAM Surface-to-air missile
SPIRITS Spectral IR imaging of targets and scenes
1. Introduction and review
The military are always on the lookout for new technology
that enables low aircraft observability [1], which necessitates
physics-based signature prediction capabilities. The estimation
of the infrared (IR) signature level (IRSL) of a jet
engine aircraft in operation is crucial for the design of
effective IR countermeasures and low observable engines [2].
Experimental measurement of the IRSL in actual flight
conditions is prohibitively expensive, especially when several
variables are involved. Some IRSL prediction models, namely
NIRATAM (NATO IR air target model) and SPIRITS (spectral
IR imaging of targets and scenes), incorporate external sources,
e.g. solar reflection and earthshine [3].
1.1. Background and motivation
The IR seekers have exploited techniques to acquire and
intercept airborne targets, by passively detecting their IR
energy. Developments in IR detection and tracking have led
to the increasing effectiveness of IR guided missiles, which
are now portable and easily available [4]. The atmosphere
limits the use of the IR spectrum to specific bands, e.g. 3–
5 and 8–12 μm, called atmospheric windows [5]; these are
used for target detection and tracking. Enhanced IR detection
capabilities are enabled by several photon detectors, e.g. cooled
tri-metal photon detectors, and advanced manufacturing and
charge-coupled device read-out technologies. The rapid
advances in VLSI (very large scale integration) processor and
IR detector array technology led to enhanced sensitivity, low
noise, multi-spectral and smart detection capabilities [6, 7].
Smart sensors have sensing and signal processing capabilities
that enhance the target signal-to-noise and signal-to-clutter
(for positive IR contrast) ratios, respectively [8]. The new
generation IR detectors use multi-spectral thermal imaging
systems that are capable of detecting the IRSL in a wide
spectrum, and of locking on to the target from all aspects.
These unprecedented improvements in IR seeker technologies
have also necessitated detailed investigations on external
sources of the IRSL, for reducing uncertainties in their
estimates. Sources of uncertainties include the measurement
error of the IRSL, the underlying IRSL prediction model,
and uncertainties in the inputs to the model. Upgrading the
model by incorporating additional sources reduces the inherent
uncertainty, making the problem more tractable.
The basic principle of IR detection is the discrimination of
aircraft IR radiance in the detector’s wavelength band with the
background radiance. The IRSL of an aircraft is due to internal
and external sources (figure 1); the internal sources include
plume and surface emissions from the following: (a) engine
hot parts (e.g. tailpipe), (b) airframe skin heated by the flow
2
S P Mahulikar et al
Figure 1. Classification of aircraft IR signature studies based on
sources.
of hot combustion products in the embedded engine (e.g. rear-
fuselage skin), and (c) airframe skin heated by aerodynamic
heating especially at high Mach numbers (e.g. forward
stagnation region of nose, wing leading edges, and air intakes).
Amongst the surface emissions, the engine is the major and
persistent source of IR emission because of the large amount
of heat produced by combustion. Though the spectral radiance
of the rear fuselage is less than that of the tailpipe, IR
emission from the rear fuselage is important especially in the
8–12 μm band [9]. Also, the solid angle subtended by the rear-
fuselage skin is an order of magnitude larger than that from
the tailpipe [10]. The rear-fuselage skin temperature can be
expressed as the sum of recovery temperature and temperature
change due to internal heat sources [11]. Mahulikar et al [12]
developed a model to compute the temperature distribution
of rear-fuselage skin, considering convection and surface
radiation interchange in the engine layout. Morris et al [2]
conducted experiments to measure the IRSL of a turbofan
engine with a simulated altitude environment in an altitude cell.
From their investigation, it is concluded that the uncertainties
in the engine emission are significant, ranging from 5 to
55%. Several methods are reported to model the plume IRSL
that include empirical relations [13] and the Monte Carlo
method [14]. Mahulikar et al [15] concluded that the IRSL
from a non-afterburning plume is much less significant than
that from the tailpipe and rear-fuselage skin, and especially so
in the 8–12 μm band.
1.2. Surface characteristics
The spectral reflectance and emissivity of the aircraft surface,
which are necessary for IRSL estimation, depend on the
applied coatings/paintings. Mahulikar et al [16] discussed that
it is desirable to treat different regions of the rear fuselage with
coatings of different emissivities. The spectral reflectance of
the aircraft surfaces and the viewing aspect play vital roles in
the estimation of reflected sunshine, skyshine, and earthshine,
as most surfaces are non-Lambertian. The reflectance
properties of a surface are described by a function that models
the interaction of light reflecting from the surface. The bi-
directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) [17] is
the most general expression of anisotropic reflectance. It is
a constant in all exitant directions for perfectly Lambertian
diffuse surfaces, and is non-zero in only one exitant direction
J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000 S P Mahulikar et al

for perfectly specular surfaces. In the NIRATAM model,

Beier [11] assumed the BRDF of the aircraft surface as a linear
combination of a perfectly diffuse and a perfectly specular
reflector, for solar reflection. The SPIRITS signature code uses
a four parametric Sandford–Robertson BRDF model that gives
reasonable agreement with standard aircraft paints [3].
The effect of the non-Lambertian nature of surface
vegetation especially is a limitation to the use of IR
reflectances. Since this effect is similar in the visible and near
infrared parts of the solar spectrum, it is cancelled in obtaining
the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) [18]. The
effect of surface non-Lambertianity on remote sensing of
the NDVI is weak, but the NDVI is directly related to
the photosynthetic capacity, i.e. energy absorption of plant
canopies [19].

1.3. Objective and scope of investigation

This investigation focuses on understanding the basis, role,
and importance of sunshine, skyshine, and earthshine in the
3–5 and 8–12 μm bands. It can be extended to obtain an
aircraft’s total IRSL in operation as outlined in section 2, using
geometric [10] and thermal [12] modelling. The moonshine
is expected to have a moderate influence on the aircraft IRSL (b)
especially during a full moon, which is part of the scope for
future research. This plausible role of moonshine is inferred Figure 2. Estimation of transmissivity for a specific direction and
path-length. (a ) Discretization of atmosphere from sea-level (0) to
from the temperature measurements of the lower thermosphere altitude h . (b) Variation of transmissivity with zenith angle θ .
on moonless and moonshine nights [20].

2. Estimation of IR signature due to reflection of
sunshine/skyshine/earthshine
The irradiance due to earthshine, sunshine, and skyshine
reflected from the aircraft surfaces is determined by the
BRDF of aircraft surfaces, aircraft dimensions, altitude,
and attitude. For diffuse and grey aircraft surfaces, the
irradiance received by the IR detector due to reflected
sunshine/skyshine/earthshine from the aircraft surface is
E ac−de = τac−de (1 − εac )E ac cos θac−de ωac−de /π. (1)
In equation (1), E ac , is the irradiance incident on the aircraft
surface due to sunshine/skyshine/earthshine. τac−de is the
transmissivity of the intervening atmosphere between the
aircraft and detector, for which the line-of-sight (path-length
and direction) is fixed. It can be obtained using LOWTRAN
(low resolution atmospheric transmission) code for a particular
atmosphere, e.g. tropical summer/mid-latitude winter, etc. The
use of LOWTRAN for several cases being computationally
expensive, an approximate procedure for the rapid estimation
of τ for a specific direction and path-length is obtained.
2.1. Rapid procedure for estimation of τ for vertical and slant
IR beams
The density and concentration of IR radiation participating
gases vary along the path for vertical and slant beams of IR
radiation. τ for a beam-length l in a small wavelength band,
λ1 –λ2 , obeys Beer’s Law (which considers attenuation due to
absorption):
τλ1−λ2 = exp(−kλ1−λ2l). (2)
For a given density and composition of air, i.e. for a given
altitude, h , and small wavelength band, λ1 –λ2 , the extinction
coefficient, kλ1−λ2 , is fixed; hence, for the atmosphere, kλ1−λ2
is a function of h . τλ1−λ2 is obtained using LOWTRAN-7 for
a fixed length (l = 1 km) of a horizontal beam at various
h . kλ1−λ2 = − ln(τλ1−λ2 )/l is now known for different h ;
and kλ1−λ2(h)-variation is used to estimate the transmissivity
of a vertical beam from ground to altitude h (τv,0−h ). The
vertical beam from 0 to altitude h is discretized into N
elements of height h = h/N , as illustrated in figure 2(a ).
The extinction coefficient of an elemental beam connecting
the i th and (i − 1)th segments is k(i−1) h i h = {k[(i −
1) h] + k(i h)}/2; and from equation (2), τv,(i−1) h i h =
exp{ k[(i−l) h]+k(i h) h}. Further,
2
τv,0−h = τv,0− h τv, h−2 h · · · τv,(N −2) h−(N −1) h

k(0) + k(N h)
× τv,(N −1) h−N h = exp + k( h)
2
 
+ k(2 h) + · · · + k((N − 1) h) + k(N h) h .
(3)
From this equation, τ of a vertical beam from sea-level to any
altitude h can be obtained; and similarly, τ of a vertical beam
from one altitude to another can also be obtained.

3
J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000
τ of a slant beam from altitude 0 to h at zenith angle θ to
the vertical is given as

k(0) + k(N h)
τsl,0−h = exp + k( h) + k(2 h) + · · ·
2
 
h
+ k((N − 1) h) + k(N h) . (3.1)
cos θ
This equation is obtained by increasing the path-length
in each discretized elemental beam of height h by a factor,
1/ cos θ (>1). The value of k is the same for each elemental
beam, because the mean density of gases determined by the
vertical height for the discretized path-length is unaltered.
Comparing equations (3) and (3.1), τsl,0−h = (τv,0−h )1/ cos θ ;
i.e. τ for a slant beam can be obtained from τ for a vertical
beam and the zenith angle.
The variation, τ (θ ), of a beam from ground to different h ,
averaged in the 1–20 μm band, is shown in figure 2 (b ). The
comparison between the variations obtained from LOWTRAN-
7 code and the expressions given by equations (3) and (3.1) for
h = 5 km is also shown. The variation given by equations (3)
and (3.1) is in good agreement with the predictions made by
LOWTRAN for low θ and θ → 90◦ . Therefore, for low θ and
θ → 90◦ , τ is obtained from equations (3) and (3.1); and for
other θ -values, τ is obtained using LOWTRAN.
3. Sunshine irradiance
The amount of solar radiation received on the earth’s day-
side surface is determined by the sun angle, state of the
atmosphere, and altitude. The solar radiation outside the
atmosphere is given by the solar constant, which consists
of the entire spectrum of solar radiation (including IR). The
solar constant is the amount of incoming solar radiation per
unit area on the outer surface of the earth’s atmosphere, in
), solar declination angle (δ ), and time of the day/hour angle
a plane perpendicular to the sun-rays. It is measured by
satellite to be approximately 1366 W m−2 , and can also be
estimated from the temperature of the sun and the solid angle
sin δ + cos
cos δ cos H ), (4.1)
subtended by the earth at the sun. The spectral distribution
of sunshine reflection from aircraft resembles that of the solar
blackbody radiation at 6000 K. However, it is modified by
the following factors: (i) atmospheric transmission; (ii) the
angle between the sun, the aircraft, and the observer; (iii)
shape of the reflecting surfaces; and (iv) type of reflection
(BRDF) and surface reflectivity. The knowledge of solar
irradiance at different altitudes in the atmosphere is needed
to compute the solar heating of the aircraft surface, sunshine,
and earthshine. The temperature increase due to solar heating
on the sun-side of the aircraft is typically 5 ◦ C [11], which
is not considered in NIRATAM. But SPIRITS incorporates
solar heating in target emissions, in addition to aerodynamic
heating [3]. Solar heating of the upper surface of aircraft can
reduce the IR-contrast when viewed from the top; for which,
the earth’s surface at higher temperature is the background.
This investigation uses LOWTRAN-7; this is a low resolution
propagation model for calculating atmospheric transmittance,
background radiance, and solar radiance. Details of validation
of the LOWTRAN-7 model with respect to benchmark cases
are provided in Kneizys et al [21].
4
S P Mahulikar et al
Figure 3(a ) shows the spectral solar irradiance above
the earth’s atmosphere and at the earth’s surface for tropical
summer atmosphere in the visible near infrared, obtained from
LOWTRAN-7. For the first generation IR seekers that operate
in the 1.9–2.9 μm band, solar reflection from the target is
an important contributor to the IRSL, as the peak irradiance
is to the left of 1.9 μm. Figures 3(b ) and (c) give the solar
irradiance at different altitudes in the 3–5 and 8–12 μm bands,
respectively. The absence of solar irradiance at 4.3 μm is due
to dominant absorption by the high concentration of CO2 even
at high altitudes [22]. Sunshine is also an important contributor
to the IRSL for seekers that operate in the 3–5 μm band, but
the contribution in the 8–12 μm band is only about 2% of
that in the 3–5 μm band. Consequently, the background solar
radiation clutter is insignificant in the 8–12 μm band, relative
to the 3–5 μm and 1.9–2.9 μm bands. Considering the signal-
to-clutter ratio as the sensor’s performance measure, IR sensors
operating in the 8–12 μm band are equally effective during the
day as at night. But the performance of IR detectors operating
in the 3–5 μm and 1.9–2.9 μm bands deteriorates during the
day, and the detectors are prone to confusing signals/false
alarms.
The estimation of reflected sunshine requires information
regarding day, time, and place; and it is further complicated by
additional target parameters like position and geometry. The
solar irradiance on the earth’s surface (which varies due to
atmospheric variables) is given as
E = E s cos(θs ). (4)
E s is the clear day solar irradiance on a plane perpendicular
to incoming solar radiation, and θs is the zenith angle of the
sun. θs is measured from the zenith directly overhead a place
on earth to the sun’s position in the sky; it depends on latitude
(
( H ). Using spherical coordinate geometry it is given as [23]
θs = cos−1 (sin
where time ( H ) is the solar time (hour of the day from
midnight). δ is the angle between the earth–sun line and the
equatorial plane; this changes with date, with a maximum
(23.45◦ ) on summer and winter solstices, and is 0◦ on the
equinoxes. The value of δ for a particular day is given as
δ = 23.45◦ sin[(JDV+284)(360/365)]; here, JDV is the Julian
day value of the day. The JDV is the number of days from the
first day of the calendar year; thus, 1 January has JDV = 1,
and 31 December has JDV = 365 (in a common year).
4. Skyshine irradiance
The atmosphere plays a crucial role in the estimation of
the IRSL, and its role includes that of atmospheric trans-
mission and background radiance (skyshine) [9]. Atmo-
spheric propagation models like LOWTRAN, MODTRAN
(moderate resolution atmospheric transmission), and HITRAN
(high resolution atmospheric transmission) codes provide a
quantitative estimate of either all or some of these roles.
The atmospheric radiance in versions after LOWTRAN-4 also
J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000
Figure 3. Spectral solar irradiance at different altitudes. (a ) 0.25–3.00 μm band, (b) 3–5 μm band, and (c) 8–12 μm band.
include scattered solar (on the earth’s day-side)/lunar radiance
and direct solar/lunar radiance. Since the IRSL of an aircraft on
the detector is determined by its contrast with the background
that it replaces, background IR irradiance at different altitudes
is needed. The LOWTRAN code estimates sky radiation at
different altitudes in a specified wavelength band in a particular
direction, thereby providing the directional spectral emissivity
ε(λ, θ ). Figure 4(a ) shows the spectral directional radiance per
unit solid angle of clear sky ( L λω ) obtained using LOWTRAN-
7 code for different θ , for mid-latitude summer atmosphere.
The LOWTRAN predictions qualitatively match with the data
of Berdahl and Fromberg [24], except in the 16–20 μm band
(which is not of interest for IRSL studies). The experimental
data of Berdahl and Fromberg was obtained with radiometer
instrumentation for the same conditions. For estimating the
skyshine at a specific altitude, h , the hemispherical spectral
emissivity averaged over the entire hemispherical range is
needed. Berger’s empirical-based model [22] estimates the
background/sky/atmospheric radiance (hemispherical spectral
emissivity) on the ground, but not at different h . It uses ground
and dew point temperatures as inputs, and estimates the sky
5
S P Mahulikar et al
radiance with reasonable accuracy using less computational
time. Berger and Bathiebo [25] and Berger et al [26],
respectively, estimated the total emissivity (ε ) of sky from
the hemispherical spectral emissivity of the sky and total sky
radiation, at different h . The estimation of directional spectral
emissivity of Berger and Bathiebo [27] can be used to obtain
the total spectral emissivity. They defined an equivalent zenith
angle (θeq ) for which the emissivity, ε , is the same as that for
the integrated sky vault; θeq was proposed by Elsasser [28]
as 53◦ and by Bliss [29] as 56◦ . θeq proposed by Elsasser
minimizes the mean error over a large band [27]; hence, it
is used in this investigation to obtain the average skyshine
at different h . Beier [11] used a simple reflection model in
NIRATAM, with the assumption that the average skyshine of
the upper hemisphere is the sky emission at θeq = 45◦ . From
figure 4(a ) it is seen that, for θ → 90◦ , the spectral sky
radiance is almost like blackbody radiation at the base altitude
temperature [26] as explained by Mahulikar et al [4] based on
the much larger horizontal path-length.
Figure 4(b ) shows the spectral hemispherical irradiance,
E λ , of average skyshine at different h using LOWTRAN-7,
J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000
Figure 4. Spectral clear sky properties for mid-latitude summer
atmosphere. (a ) Directional radiance, (b) hemispherical irradiance.
for mid-latitude summer conditions. For h = 0 km, the E λ
values match with the predictions of Berger’s model [22], in
quality and quantity. The skyshine is much higher for the
8–12 μm band as compared to the 3–5 μm band, especially
for low h . From the earth’s surface up to h = 3 km, the
atmosphere itself is responsible for the background IR radiance
in the atmospheric windows.
The IR irradiance on the aircraft is from the atmosphere
above the target altitude for upper surfaces. For bottom
surfaces, IR irradiance is due to the atmosphere below the
target altitude and earthshine. For high altitudes, the average
skyshine from the atmosphere below the target is added to the
earthshine component. The LOWTRAN-7 code can be used
to obtain the average skyshine incident on the lower surface
of the target. Beier [11] proposed the skyshine of the lower
hemisphere to be the average emission corresponding to θeq =
135◦ .
5. Earthshine irradiance
The role of earthshine is important for low flying aircraft and
helicopters in the 8–12 μm band [16]. It consists of emission
6
S P Mahulikar et al
Figure 5. Estimation of earthshine irradiance on aircraft. (a ) Visible
earth-disc from an aircraft at altitude h , (b) discretization of the
earth-disc.
from the ground (due to its temperature) and reflection of solar
radiation during the day (of lesser importance in the 8–12 μm
band; see figure 3). The emission from the earth’s surface is
a function of several parameters, e.g. vegetation, temperature,
humidity, type of soil and rock. Other than vegetation, most
surfaces characterizing the earth are predominantly diffuse and
behave as grey bodies with high ε . Most agricultural plants
have ε ∼ 0.95 and soil surface has ε ∼ 0.93 [30]. Because
night-time mission is considered in this investigation, only
the effect of the earth’s emission is obtained at different h .
Reflection of solar radiation from the earth’s surface for a day-
time mission can also be added in the analysis for earthshine,
using equations (4) and (4.1).
5.1. Estimation of τed−ac and earthshine irradiance
Figure 5(a ) shows an exaggerated view of the curved surface
of the earth that is visible to an aircraft at altitude h . This
visible surface subtends a very small angle (90◦ − α ) at
the centre of the earth (since h  Re ); hence, it can
be considered as a flat disc, termed here as an earth-disc
(ed). Solving simultaneously tan α = (Red / h) and cos α =
Red /Re , Red and αare obtained in terms of h and Re as

follows: Red = ( h 4 + 4h 2 Re2 + 4 − h 2 )/2 and α =

−1
tan [ ( 1 + 4(Re / h)2 + h44 − 1)/2]. The emission from
the visible earth-disc (shown by the hatched area ( Aed = π Red
2
)
in figure 5(a )) that is received by the aircraft is given as
E ed−ac = τed−ac Fed−ac εed eλ1−λ2,ed Aed . (5)
J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000
Figure 6. Grid independence study of E ac in the 8–12 μm band.
(a ) Variation of E ac with number of elements, N , for different
altitude, h . (b) Percentage change in E ac with N , for h = 0.5 km.
τed−ac is the effective transmissivity between the earth-disc and
the aircraft, considering that the lines of sight connecting the
aircraft and the earth-disc have varying θ (and varying τ (θ )).
Fed−ac is the view factor of the aircraft as seen by the earth-disc
(=Aac sin2 α/Aed ), where Aac is infinitesimally small relative
to Aed .
Figure 2(b ) shows that there is a large variation of τ (θ )
for fixed h , within the angular subtense (2α ) of the earth-disc.
Therefore, the earth-disc is discretized into N annular elements
(see figure 5(b )), so τ of the beam connecting the aircraft and
a discretized earth-disc element (τeed−ac ) is fixed, as θ is fixed.
Equation (5) applied to the i th annular element of the earth-disc
is given as
E eed−ac,i = τeed−ac,i Feed−ac,i εeed,i eλ1−λ2,eed,i Aeed,i . (5.1)
In equation (5.1), the view factor of the aircraft as seen by the
i th elemental earth-disc is given as
Feed−ac,i = (Aac / Aeed,i )[sin2 (θi ) − sin2 (θi−1 )]. (5.1.1)
In equations (5.1) and (5.1.1), Aeed,i = π(2i − 1)(Red /N)2 ,
and θi and θi−1 are the zenith angles corresponding to
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S P Mahulikar et al
Figure 7. Spectral irradiance due to earthshine at different h .
boundaries of the i th elemental earth-disc. The irradiances
from all N elemental earth-discs are added to obtain the total
irradiance on the aircraft at altitude h , i.e.,
N
E ed−ac = E eed−ac,i . (6)
i=1
From equations (5) and (6), the effective transmissivity
between the earth-disc and the aircraft, τed−ac , is ob-
tained.
The effect of discretization ( N ) on the irradiance on
an aircraft ( E ac ) due to earthshine in the 8–12 μm band is
examined in figure 6, which gives the variations of E ac and
( E ac /E ac ) × 100% with N . Because ( E ac /E ac ) < 0.01%
for N > 150 (grid independence) in the altitude range 0–
2.5 km, N = 150 is selected for the results on spectral
earthshine irradiance intensity ( E λ ) in figure 7. The grey body
spectrum at the earth’s surface is also shown as reference, for
Tgr = 300 K and εed = 0.85. It is also seen that E λ of
earthshine in the 8–12 μm band is much larger than in the
3–5 μm band, because, for Tgr = 300 K, λmax ≈ 9.61 μm
(Wien’s displacement law).
6. Results for sunshine, skyshine, and earthshine
Figures 8(a ) and (b ) give L λ from an aircraft rear fuselage
due to earthshine, skyshine, and sunshine, at h = 1 km,
in the 3–5 and 8–12 μm bands. The temperature-based
radiance of the aircraft rear-fuselage skin (assumed Lambertian
and grey) for typical dry (non-afterburning) rating of the
engine [12] is also shown for comparison. Figure 9 shows
the variation with h of earthshine, skyshine, and sunshine
irradiance in the 3–5 and 8–12 μm bands. Earthshine and
skyshine irradiance in the 8–12 μm band is much more
significant than in the 3–5 μm band, and earthshine is
dominant relative to skyshine and sunshine in the 8–12 μm
band. The intensity of earthshine irradiance is higher at
low h , and above a particular h (∼5 km), the change in
irradiance is insignificant (figure 9). Comparing figures 8(a )
and (b ), it is seen that the irradiance due to sunshine is
J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000 S P Mahulikar et al

Figure 9. Variation with altitude of sunshine, skyshine, and

earthshine irradiance.

Figure 8. Spectral radiance from an aircraft rear fuselage, h = 1 km:

(a ) 3–5 μm band, (b) 8–12 μm band.

more in the 3–5 μm band than in the 8–12 μm band. It

increases with h , because the maximum irradiance is at the
boundary of the earth’s atmosphere (also see figure 3). These
irradiances should be considered together with the missile type,
e.g. SAM (surface-to-air missile)/AAM (air-to-air missile),
which see more of the bottom/side and top surfaces of aircraft,
respectively. The bottom and top surfaces of aircraft are
primarily responsible for the reflection of earthshine and
sunshine, respectively.
Figures 10(a ) and (b ) illustrate the effect of variation
of earthshine with emissivity of an aircraft’s rear-fuselage
surface and its altitude, respectively. The effect of earthshine
decreases with increase in εac , because of a decrease in surface
reflectivity (figure 10(a )). Atmospheric transmission decreases Figure 10. Aircraft rear fuselage’s irradiance in the 8–12 μm band.
with increasing h ; therefore, earthshine in the 8–12 μm band (a ) Variation with εac , (b) variation with h .
is important especially for low altitude missions. Figure 10(b )
shows the variation of contrast in the 8–12 μm band with h ,
from which it is inferred that the background radiance is also and without earthshine on the SAM’s IR seeker below it,
more important at lower h (also see figure 4(b )). Because for tropical conditions. The effect of background radiance is
most of the sky’s IR radiation is due to atmospheric radiance illustrated by comparing the contrast irradiance and irradiance
below h < 5 km, it is important to estimate the background considering only target radiance. It is inferred that earthshine
radiance for h < 5 km. Figure 11 shows the spectral variation and background radiance are more prominent in the 8–12 μm
of an aircraft rear-fuselage’s (at h = 1 km) irradiance with band than in the 3–5 μm band.

8
 J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11 (2009) 000000
Figure 11. Spectral variation of aircraft rear fuselage’s irradiance on
a SAM’s IR seeker.
7. Summary and conclusions
(i) Sunshine, skyshine, and earthshine, as external sources
of aircraft infrared (IR) signatures, are studied. Their
contributions are now significant due to the increasing
sensitivities of IR detectors and the need to reduce
uncertainties in IR signature estimates.
(ii) Sunshine irradiance increases with increasing altitude, and
is a major contributor to the IR signature especially for the
first generation IR seekers that operate in the 1.9–2.9 μm
band. Its estimation is important for high altitude flights
and also in the 3–5 μm band, considering threats from
multi-spectral IR seekers.
(iii) Solar heating of the upper surface of aircraft can reduce
the IR-contrast when viewed from the top.
(iv) Sensors operating in the 8–12 μm band perform as well
during the day as at night, but the performance of IR
sensors operating in the 3–5 and 1.9–2.9 μm bands
deteriorates during the day.
(v) Irradiances from earthshine and skyshine are more
dominant in the 8–12 μm band than in the 3–5 μm band.
(vi) Skyshine IR radiance contribution is from the atmosphere
between sea-level and an altitude of 5 km.
(vii) Earthshine is dominant relative to skyshine and sunshine
in the 8–12 μm band, and is significant especially at lower
altitudes (below about 3 km).
(viii) Considering a surface-to-air missile as a threat, esti-
mations of the contrast of a target’s IR radiance with
background and earthshine are important in the 8–12 μm
band for low altitude flights.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank AR&DB project no. 05AB004 of their
department for providing necessary logistic support for this
investigation. The authors are grateful to the A von Humboldt
Foundation, Germany (grant no. INI/1104249/STP), for the
rich exposure to research methodology. The authors thank
Ms D N S Reddam, a Masters’ student of their department,
for assistance in the preparation of the figures.
9
S P Mahulikar et al
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Queries for IOP paper 282716
Journal: JOptA
Author: S P Mahulikar et al
Short title: Study of sunshine, skyshine, and earthshine
for aircraft infrared detection

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