Detection of Leonids meteoric dust in the upper atmosphere by polarization measurements of the twilight sky

A new method for the meteoric dust detection in the upper atmosphere based on the polarimetric observations of the twilight sky is proposed. Polarization measurements are effective for detection of the meteoric dust scattering on the background consisting basically of troposphere multiple scattering. The method is based on the observed and explained polarization properties of the sky background during different stages of twilight. It is used to detect the mesosphere dust after the Leonids maximum in 2002, estimate its altitude range and to investigate its evolution—slow decrease of the altitude. The polarization method takes into account the multiple scattering and sufficient contribution of moonlight scattering background and turns out to be more sensitive than existing analogs used in the present time.