Thermal emission from haze and clouds.
The photons thermally emitted by the atmospheric molecules and aerosols as well as those emitted by the planetary surface are followed by a Monte Carlo technique through subsequent collisions with the aerosols and planetary surface. Anisotropic single scattering functions typical of hazes or of nimbostratus clouds are used. The angular variation of the radiation at both the top and bottom of the atmosphere are studied as a function of the single scattering albedo, size distribution of aerosols, optical thickness of the atmosphere, albedo and temperature of planetary surface, and the temperature distribution in the atmosphere.