1. A method of estimating atmospheric conditions of an object, comprising the steps of: (a) measuring radiance values from an atmospheric image of the object; (b) determining a set of atmospheric condition parameters associated with the atmospheric image; (c) determining expected radiance values for the set of atmospheric condition parameters; (d) determining the difference between the measured radiance values and the expected radiance values; (e) adjusting the set of atmospheric condition parameters; and (f) determining the atmospheric conditions of the object from the difference between the measured radiance values and the expected radiance values.