From the Bradley Carroll Modern Astrophysics textbook:
Calculate how far you could see through Earth's atmosphere if ithad the opacity of the solar photosphere. Use the value for thesun's opacity from example 9.2.2. (K at 500 nm wavelength is givento be = 0.03m^2kg^-1) and 1.2 kgm^-3 for the density of Earth'satmosphere.
I am not sure which formula to use. In the book, on page 242,equation 9.16 states that
Delta Tau = Tau,f - Tau,0 = - integral[K x density x ds],
where s is the distance measured along the photon's path in itsdirection of motion. My professor also gave a hint that I could"see" to an optical depth of Tau = 2/3.
I am not sure if the formula above is what I use or somethingelse.
Thank you for any help you can give!
-Olga