Question

Why does the sun seem to rise two minutes before the actual sunrise and set two minutes after the actual sunset ? Explain with the help of labelled diagram.

Answer 1

Answer:

three minetes

Explanation:

because the actual sun rise rises in two

Answer 2

Atmospheric Refraction

Explanation:

The Sun is visible to us two minutes before the sunrise and two minutes after the sunset because of the bending of the light due to atmospheric refraction. With the increase in altitude, the density of the atmospheric layer varies and becomes less dense. Since the light rays from the sun travel from denser atmosphere to rarer atmosphere, the refractive index of the atmosphere increases. So, the light rays bend more and more towards the normal. Hence, sun appears to be above the horizon while its actual position is slightly below the horizon. Thus the sun appears to rise two minutes earlier and set two minutes later than it actually does.