Landscape as viewed in the 320-nm ultraviolet

Abstract

Wood's 1910 study of the UV landscape by photography [R. W. Wood, Photog. J. 50, 329 (1910)] is resumed. Through a narrow-band filter at 320 nm we find uniform skies even under broken clouds, a Rayleigh veiling that attenuates distant detail, an absence of shadows, and a low reflectivity for most natural substances (except snow). Rainbows broaden by a factor of more than 2 when the UV is included. The fact that glass is opaque at 320 nm causes cities to be dark at night in this wavelength, with astronomical consequences. The aphakic human eye (i.e., the eye after removal of its crystalline lens for a cataract condition) proves to have a practical sensitivity at 320 nm so that the aphakic observer can verify the unique character of the UV scene.