Friday 17 May 2013

What To Know About Sunsets

By Antoinette Quinn


Sunsets, also known as sundowns, describe the daily occurrence that is the Sun disappearing below the western horizon. This natural behavior is the result of a rotating Earth. Many people enjoy watching the star go down because of the beautiful atmosphere that is created, including the intense red and orange colors.

A sunset, in the field of astronomy, is known as the time when the edge of the Sun disappears below the line of horizon. The light that is given off from the star as it sets is distorted by the horizon because of what is known as atmospheric refraction. This makes it appear that sundown is occurring when in reality the disk has fallen below the horizon.

This is different from dusk, which is the period in which the sky has reached complete darkness. This takes place once the start is approximately 18 degrees below the horizon. Twilight is the time between sundown and dusk. Areas that are located south of Antarctic Circle or north of Arctic Circle do not have sunset or sunrise one day in the year. This is because of the polar day or polar night lasting for 24 hours.

Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer during the sixteenth century, was the first person to present the world with a mathematical model to support the truth that the Earth moves and the Sun does not. During his time, many believed that this large star moved. His model is still widely accepted in modern times.

The time at which the Sun goes down varies during the year. It is also relevant to the position of a person on Earth-- latitude, longitude, elevation. Any and all changes in the sunset are likely to be caused by the axial tilt of Earth, and its rotation, revolution and orbit.

In winter and spring times, the days are considered longer. This is because sundown takes place later each day until the last sunset, usually after summer solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, July or June is usually when the latest of such sundowns will occur. It is rare for this to happen on the summer solstice, but things may vary with latitude. Likewise, the earliest sunsets do not fall on the winter solstice but usually a few weeks before. Therefore, November or December is usually when this happens.

This same phenomenon takes place in the Southern Hemisphere, but the dates are reversed. The early sunsets occur before the summer solstice in winter and the latest of sunsets take place after the winter solstice in summer. Still, it all depends on the exact latitude.

Sunsets are known for the beautiful atmospheric changes they create. The intense colors in the sky, surrounding clouds and Sun make this natural occurrence a thing of marvel. The time and duration of sunsets is based on the longitude, latitude and elevation of a person. There are changes that occur over the course of a year because the movements, revolutions, rotation and tilt of planet Earth.




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