  A material exists which links together the influx of meteoritic matter from
interplanetary space, the polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE), the sporadic
sodium layers, the polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs, NLCs), and the observed ion
chemistry in the mesosphere. The evidence in these research fields is here
analyzed and found to agree well with the properties of Rydberg Matter (RM).
This material has been studied with numerous methods in the laboratory. Alkali
atoms, mainly Na, reach the mesosphere in the form of interplanetary
(meteoritic, cometary) dust. The planar RM clusters NaN usually contain N = 19,
37 or 61 atoms, and have the density of air at 90 km altitude where they float.
The diameters of the clusters are 10-100 nm from laboratory high precision
radio frequency spectroscopic studies. Such experiments show that RM clusters
interact strongly with radar frequencies: this explains the radio frequency
heating and reflection studies of PMSE layers. The clusters give the low
temperature in the mesosphere by efficient selective radiation at long
wavelengths, which is observed in RF emission experiments. The lowest possible
stable temperature of the mesopause is calculated for the first time to be 121
K in agreement with measurements, based on the strong optical activity at long
wavelengths in RM. Sporadic sodium layers are explained in a unique way as due
to shockwaves in the RM layers. Due to the high electronic excitation energy in
RM clusters, they induce efficient reactions forming ions of all atoms and
molecules in the atmosphere thus providing condensation nuclei for water
vapour. This finally gives the visible part of the PMC structure. The present
contribution fills the gap between and partially replaces the separate theories
used to describe the various aspects of these intriguing phenomena.
