Question

Explain the advance sunrise

Answer 1

Explanation:

• Advanced sunrise and delayed sunset are phenomena caused due to atmospheric refraction.
• In this the Sun appears to rise early by 2 minutes and set late by 2 minutes.
• The diagram below shows this phenomenon.
• When the rays from the Sun hit the atmosphere they get refracted.

Answer 2

Answer:

Advanced sunrise is caused due to the phenomenon of refraction. Just before sunrise, when the sun is just below the horizon, the upper layers of atmosphere are warmer and so rarer than the successive layers below them. So, when the sunlight reaches the earth's atmosphere, it keeps on bending towards the normal (as it is going from rarer to denser medium) and finally reaches the eye of an observer standing on the earth's surface. Since the eye cannot retrace the bent path of sunlight, it retraces back a straight line path. Thus, it seems that the sun is just above the horizon, when it is actually just below the horizon. So, the observer can see the sun a few minutes before sunrise. This is known as advanced sunrise.