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avito009
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When I observe the sunset from my balcony, the sun appears far away near the horizon. But when I watch sunset at a beach the sun appears closer to me at the horizon. Why so?
It's a matter of reference points. From your balcony, you presumably have reference points nearby and in the intermediate distance and this gives you a different sense of perspective than what you get looking out over the ocean with no reference points.avito009 said:When I observe the sunset from my balcony, the sun appears far away near the horizon. But when I watch sunset at a beach the sun appears closer to me at the horizon. Why so?
The sun appears larger at the horizon due to an optical illusion known as the Ponzo illusion. This illusion occurs because our brain interprets objects closer to the horizon as being farther away, making them appear larger.
The sun appears to change color at the horizon due to the scattering of light in the Earth's atmosphere. When the sun is higher in the sky, its light travels through less atmosphere, making it appear white. However, at the horizon, the sunlight has to travel through more atmosphere, causing the shorter blue wavelengths to scatter more, making the sun appear more red or orange.
The horizon appears curved when looking at the sun due to the curvature of the Earth. As the Earth is round, the edges of the horizon appear to curve, giving the illusion that the sun is also following this curve.
The sun appears to disappear and reappear at the horizon due to the Earth's rotation. As the Earth rotates, the sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west. At the horizon, the sun is passing behind the curvature of the Earth, giving the illusion that it is disappearing and reappearing.
The sun appears to be at different positions at sunrise and sunset due to the Earth's rotation and the tilt of its axis. As the Earth rotates, the sun appears to move across the sky. However, the tilt of the Earth's axis causes the sun's position to change throughout the year, resulting in different positions at sunrise and sunset.