The altitude of the scattering layer near the mesopause over the summer poles

The variation in radiance and altitude with time and latitude is reported for the dense scattering layers observed over the summer poles by the OGO 6 airglow photometer. The average altitude was 84.3 km with a tendency for higher values on the night side than on the day side of the polar cap. The average radiance increased by a factor of 5 between day 163 and day 180, 1969, but decreased thereafter.