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I am pretty sure the equation given should be I = 10^{10}/{4pi} L. My reference is Baker & Romick, Applied Optics, Vol. 15, Issue 8, p. 1966 (1976). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:638:504:C07C:E130:42ED:9AF1:6365 (talk) 12:34, 8 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

This article could use a clearer description of what a rayleigh is. One part of the definition which is pretty confusing is "column". What are the dimensions of this column? A diagram of how the photons are measured and how rayleigh is different from radiance or flux (if it is) would be very helpful. -- Beland (talk) 00:35, 7 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

from the original paper "A photometric unit for the airglow and aurora" (D.M. Hunten, F.E. Roach, J.W. Chamberlain) link to article:

Consider a cylindrical column of cross-sectional area one extending away from the photometer; the emission rate from a volume element of length at distance is . The element contributes to an amount . Integrating along the line of observation gives which is the emission rate from the whole column, as already stated. Therefore, we propose that photometric measurements of the airglow and aurora be reported in terms of , rather than the surface brightness itself. Further, we suggest that be given the unit of "rayleigh" (symbol )