Shape of the sun's spotlight

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Tom Bishop

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Shape of the sun's spotlight
« on: April 11, 2008, 02:20:16 PM »
Some people have been asking why the sun's spotlight changes shape over the year. This can be answered by looking into the mechanics of the spotlight itself. The base question, "how is it that the earth is not at all times illuminated all over its surface, seeing that the sun is always several hundred miles above it?" may be answered as follows:--

First, if no atmosphere existed, no doubt the light of the sun would diffuse over the whole earth at once, and alternations of light and darkness could not exist.

Secondly, as the earth is covered with an atmosphere of many miles in depth, the density of which gradually increases downwards to the surface, all the rays of light except those which are vertical, as they enter the upper stratum of air are arrested in their course of diffusion, and by Snell's Law bent downwards towards the earth; as this takes place in all directions round the sun--equally where density and other conditions are equal, and vice versâ--the effect is a non-uniform area of sun-light.

For a striking example of Snell's Law we simply need to put a straw into a glass of water:



As we can see, the light from behind the glass is bent downwards as it passes through the thick medium of the water. While this is an extreme example, it shows that light is malleable, able to bend and conform based on existing conditions. When the light of the sun moves from the vacuum of space into the atmosphere of the earth it is gradually compelled downwards into the surface. The refractive index of air is a bit less than water, and so the effect will me more gradual, taking place over tens of thousands of miles instead of abruptly like the above image.

This considered, lets designate some facts.

Fact: Cold air is denser than warm air, and has therefore a greater refractive index.1

Fact: The sun is farther from the earth in its Northern Annulus and closer to the earth during its Southern Annulus.2

We're just coming into a summer and right now the sun is positioned over the equator, the majority of its warmth spread over the ring of the equator. The sun is at it's middle point between hemispheres. The atmosphere in this area around the equator is at its highest temperature and therefore, since warm air has less of a refractive index than cold air, light can progress further through the atmosphere without bending towards the ground. This results in the spotlight of the sun conforming to the shape of the hottest areas. The end result gives the spotlight of the sun an oval shape taking up approximately one half of the earth:



When the Sun is over the North and at its highest altitude the spotlight is small and circular. This is because the sun is far from the earth and not heating the atmosphere up very much. At this time the entire Southern Hemisphere is in its Winter, and since cold air is denser than warm air, the refractive index is higher and light cannot proceed without being redirected into the earth. Since the earth is colder, the light is restricted to a small circle where summer exists in the North.

When the sun is over the South and close to the earth the sun is heating up the Southern Hemisphere, giving the spotlight a wide crescent shape. The shape is a crescent because when the sun is over the South it is winter in the North and the sun's light cannot penetrate the density of the Northern Hemisphere's winter.

The shape of the spotlight defines the time it will take for the sun to set. If the spotlight is small, the sun will appear to pass over the earth quickly. If the spotlight is large, the sun will take appear to take a longer time to pass over the earth. In the above illustration the Sun's spotlight is neither small or large - but at it's median - taking up approximately one half of the earth's surface and giving us 12 hour days.

1 Second paragraph in the Wikipedia article on Mirages
2 See the Sun's Analemma which demonstrates the height of the sun over the course of the year.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2008, 08:32:36 PM by Tom Bishop »

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markjo

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2008, 02:51:24 PM »
The refractive index of air is a bit less than water, and so the effect will me more gradual, taking place over tens of thousands of miles instead of abruptly like the above image.

Quote from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction
Air has a refractive index of about 1.0003, and water has a refractive index of about 1.33.

I'd say that's more than just a bit of difference.
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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2008, 03:00:45 PM »
Quote
I'd say that's more than just a bit of difference.

Even a small number builds up with time and distance.



Take a look at the above image for instance. The refractive index of air is enough to make this iceberg appear to float unsupported due to a gust of warm air off in the distance.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2008, 03:04:52 PM by Tom Bishop »

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markjo

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2008, 03:07:43 PM »
Quote
I'd say that's more than just a bit of difference.

Even a small number builds up with time and distance.



Take a look at the above image for instance. The refractive index of air is enough to make this iceberg appear to float unsupported due to a gust of warm air off in the distance.

So mirages can appear to raise far off objects.  How does this explain the apparent setting of the sun?  You are still refracting the sun's rays the wrong way.
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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2008, 03:21:50 PM »
Quote
So mirages can appear to raise far off objects.  How does this explain the apparent setting of the sun?  You are still refracting the sun's rays the wrong way.

I was just demonstrating that the refractive index of air is meaningful and can be seen in nature. The above mirage with the iceberg is called a Superior Mirage, a rarity in mirages. It's amazing that the photographer was in the right place at the right time.

The majority of mirages take the form of Inferior Mirages. These can be seen all over the place. In an Inferior Mirage parts of the sky can be seen to appear over the ground, which is why on a hot summer day it might look like there are puddles down a highway. These sorts of mirages are more common since air is usually denser near the surface of the earth.

Example 1

Example 2

Basically the illusion of the Sunset is just a big inferior mirage. When the rays of the sun encounters the earth's atmosphere they are slowed by its density and therefore bent into the earth's surface just as parts of the sky are bent into the pavement of the road's surface in the above examples. The sun illusion is more constant than the mirages you see in nature because the gradient of the atmosphere's density is constant. Local conditions might change, but the density gradient between the vacuum of space and the thickness of the atmosphere will always be there.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2008, 04:48:22 PM by Tom Bishop »

Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2008, 03:27:33 PM »
Interesting, but then the weather and altitude would have very large effect on the apparent position of the sun. For example, A desert near the equator will be freezing cold until the sun has been up for a couple of hours to warm it up. Likewise, the upper slopes of a mountain will be very cold regardless of the weather, but such places will still experience changes due to the seasons.

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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2008, 03:38:56 PM »
Interesting, but then the weather and altitude would have very large effect on the apparent position of the sun. For example, A desert near the equator will be freezing cold until the sun has been up for a couple of hours to warm it up. Likewise, the upper slopes of a mountain will be very cold regardless of the weather, but such places will still experience changes due to the seasons.

Ah, but altitude does make a difference. When you are on the surface of the earth you might see the sun half intersected with the horizon line. But at that moment if you were to go up in a plane or to the top of a skyscraper where the atmosphere is thinner, you could see the sun pop back up. At higher altitudes it takes longer for the sun to intersect with the horizon due to the thinner density of the atmosphere. Light is bending less there since there is less atmosphere to go through.

If one could get to a high enough altitude beyond the atmosphere of the earth, the sun would never set at all.

In regards to the seasons at the top of mountains; I'm not an expert in the temperatures experienced at the top of Mt. Everest over the course of a year, but I'd imagine that there's not much of a difference between summer and winter.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2008, 04:57:31 PM by Tom Bishop »

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jdoe

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2008, 04:58:27 PM »


We've been over this many times before, Tom.  Snell's law implies that the sun will appear higher that it actually is.  Just, look at the diagram.  The light ray from the sun is bent towards the normal because air becomes more dense as the light propagates downward.  We assume light travels in straight lines, so the sun will appear in the direction of the line tangent to the actual path of light.  Follow the dotted line on the diagram, and that will give the apparent position of the sun.  Notice that it appears higher than the actual position of the sun.
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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2008, 07:14:53 PM »
Right. We have two suns here. The actual sun and the apparent sun. I can agree that the actual position of the sun would be at a lower angle than the apparent image of the sun. I haven't disputed that. I can agree with that image. The light is being bent downwards just as in my first image with the straw in a glass of water. It's the same effect, only suspended over the observer.

Whatever the actual sun does, the sun's apparent image does also except at a different angle and projected upon the upper strata of the atmosphere. When the actual sun recedes, so does its image. As the spotlight of the sun passes over the observer it will appear as if the sun's image is intersecting with the earth's horizon.

The same intersecting effect is easily created with a straw in a glass of water. By moving the straw around left or right in the water you can get the straw's image to intersect with the sides of the glass.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2008, 07:54:30 PM by Tom Bishop »

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trig

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2008, 09:13:56 PM »
As already said, the shape of the Sun's light during the Winter Solstice (around December 21) is the following:

Remember, the grey area is nighttime!!!



As you can see, no "flashlight" can distribute light in such a pattern, where all of the rim of Earth (Antarctica) is in the middle of its 6 month daytime and the northernmost part of Russia, Greenland, Alaska and the north Pole are in the middle of their 6 month long nighttime!!!

Also, whatever magic makes the sun project light over America without illuminating it, this magic is so good that no telescope can see even a hint of the Sun anywhere from America.

By the way, any suggestion that the atmosphere is thick enough to stop the light from the Sun becomes impossible, since light can travel above all of America and land on Antarctica.

Note: in the diagram we are seeing midnight for the Pacific in North America.

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jdoe

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2008, 10:31:42 PM »


Okay, Tom, this diagram shows the sun at horizontal distance of 10000 km and a height of 4800 km.  These distances are to scale, but the thickness of the atmosphere and size of the sun are not.  According to estimates you have made before, you have said that the sun needs to be at a horizontal distance of at least 10000 km away for it to appear to set.  So this diagram should show the situation in which the sun is setting.

However, the observer will not see the sun set according to the diagram.  He will observe the sun at some angle greater than tan(4800/10000)=25 degrees, as shown.  The angle must be greater than 25 degrees because we know that light always bends downwards through the atmosphere.  The sun is not even close to setting.
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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2008, 05:19:56 AM »
Quote
Ah, but altitude does make a difference. When you are on the surface of the earth you might see the sun half intersected with the horizon line. But at that moment if you were to go up in a plane or to the top of a skyscraper where the atmosphere is thinner, you could see the sun pop back up. At higher altitudes it takes longer for the sun to intersect with the horizon due to the thinner density of the atmosphere. Light is bending less there since there is less atmosphere to go through.

If one could get to a high enough altitude beyond the atmosphere of the earth, the sun would never set at all.

In regards to the seasons at the top of mountains; I'm not an expert in the temperatures experienced at the top of Mt. Everest over the course of a year, but I'd imagine that there's not much of a difference between summer and winter.

Your model states that the sun is up for a shorter amount of time in colder climates, not a longer amount of time. The sun should set earlier than expected and rise later than expected on top of a mountain. It also still leaves the problem of deserts, with cold mornings that should result in the sun rising later than normal.

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #12 on: April 12, 2008, 05:46:39 AM »
The whole sun-magic-superrefraction thing is too hard to explain away. Especially since jdoe appears to have blasted quite a significant hole in it.
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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #13 on: April 12, 2008, 05:48:16 AM »
As already said, the shape of the Sun's light during the Winter Solstice (around December 21) is the following:

Remember, the grey area is nighttime!!!

Whoa whoa whoa Picasso, slow down there. That's what should happen if the earth were a globe. However, it's not.

During summer in the south when the sun is down close to the earth cooking up the southern lands2, at most the sun's spotlight will make a crescent shape which wraps over more than half of our local area. The shape is crescent because when it's summer in the South it's winter in the North and the rays of the sun cannot as easily penetrate colder climates (at sea level) as it can warmer climates.

The spotlight does not wrap all the way around Antarctica. There are no reports of a midnight sun in Antarctica. Now, granted, the Polar Explorer Sir James Clark Ross did experience some sort of inconsistent perpetual day without a sun in the sky where the day seemed to pulse in intensity for 12 hours; but that's not a midnight sun. His odd experience can easily be chalked up to stray rays bouncing along the ice crystals in the upper polar strata which encircles the earth.

During summer in the North the rays are limited to the summer areas of the northern hemisphere, which is why the spotlight is a small circular shape. The rays cannot penetrate the density of the southern hemisphere's winter.

Your model states that the sun is up for a shorter amount of time in colder climates, not a longer amount of time. The sun should set earlier than expected and rise later than expected on top of a mountain. It also still leaves the problem of deserts, with cold mornings that should result in the sun rising later than normal.

I should have made that more clear. My model states that rays of the sun should progress more easily through low density environments. That's how Snell's Law works; rays can progress more easily through environments of less density. The more density rays have to swim through, the more they will bend. Cold environments at sea level are more dense than Hot environments at sea level as I've referenced in 1 of my first post.

Now granted, the top of Mt. Everest is cold, I'll give you that. But it's not a sea level environment. The atmosphere is much thinner up there. It's cold because there's less of an atmosphere to transmute heat to the environment.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2008, 11:09:51 AM by Tom Bishop »

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jdoe

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #14 on: April 12, 2008, 01:38:00 PM »
No midnight sun?  This expedition seems to have found otherwise.  http://www.thethreepoles.com/archives/57-Midnight-Sun-Dry-Ice-Day-9-Antarctica-Expedition.html

Also, have you considered my diagram, Tom?
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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #15 on: April 12, 2008, 01:58:57 PM »
No midnight sun?  This expedition seems to have found otherwise.  http://www.thethreepoles.com/archives/57-Midnight-Sun-Dry-Ice-Day-9-Antarctica-Expedition.html

Also, have you considered my diagram, Tom?
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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #16 on: April 12, 2008, 06:43:41 PM »
Quote
However, the observer will not see the sun set according to the diagram.  He will observe the sun at some angle greater than tan(4800/10000)=25 degrees, as shown.  The angle must be greater than 25 degrees because we know that light always bends downwards through the atmosphere.  The sun is not even close to setting.

You're right. Perspective does not explain the setting sun alone. The sun appears to fall towards the horizon as it recedes due to a combination of perspective and the tendency for rays to be redirected downwards towards the earth as they pass through the dense atmosphere of the earth via Snell's Law. At the far reaches of the sun's spotlight where the rays are creating their most shallow tangent into the earth's surface the observer will see the sun appear to intersect with the horizon as the spotlight of the sun passes by overhead. 

Quote
No midnight sun?  This expedition seems to have found otherwise.  http://www.thethreepoles.com/archives/57-Midnight-Sun-Dry-Ice-Day-9-Antarctica-Expedition.html

Whatever that guy is seeing isn't the sun. It looks like a starry glare to me. This was likely the result of stray rays bouncing off of the ice crystals in the upper polar strata which surrounds the earth and combining to a point.

A poster posted an image of the Midnight sun on these forums a while back. As I recall, the exact comments were something along the lines of “What the heck, that looks like a star!” Clearly, this portrayal of the sun is entirely out of line with what we are used to seeing. The everyday sun is usually in the form of a ball. A bit of explaining on both sides of the fence will be necessary for why the midnight sun looks like a multi-pointed Christmas star in each of its images throughout the internet.

As an analogy I’m sure that everyone here can think back and agree with me that when looking at the reflection of the sun bounced off the surface of a shiny car we will see this exact effect. The sun will be turned into a Christmas star. Why this happens, the exact physical process, is the result of an uneven reflecting surface. The point I am conveying is that the sun looks different in a reflection (star shaped) than it does when observed directly by the naked eye (ball shaped).

Now, as we are told, the midnight sun happens in the Northern and Southern polar regions. By necessity these two extremities will be a bit chilly, covered by tundra of ice and snow. The local polar atmosphere will be saturated with ice crystals. It is these ice crystals, inherent in the upper polar atmosphere, which can create the illusion of the midnight sun.

Indeed, sun illusions are widely known to occur in chilly areas. It is common in some parts of the world to see two suns in the sky simultaneously. From a popular astronomical discrepancy website the following is posted:

“I was driving home the other day and I was observing the sunset as I have a habit of doing lately and it was cloudy. The thing I noticed was that you could definitely tell there were two light sources. One sun was already setting while another bright orb was still in the clouds. There were two suns in the sky!” — Nancy

The official explanation for these reflected suns is exactly what I’ve suspected; a high saturation of ice crystals in the upper strata. These reflected suns appear all throughout the day, usually during the winter months, moving through the sky. As the real sun moves, so does its reflection upon the upper polar strata. The reflected sun moves along the ice crystals of the sky, dancing slowly above the observer, over a period of 24 hours.

Such odd and vibrant effects are not uncommon in the polar areas. Due to the environment, and the ice crystals throughout the atmosphere, optical illusions are extremely common.

As every polar explorer could personally tell you, mirages and illusions of every sort are apparent throughout the day.

"The land looks like a fairytale." — Roald Amundsen about Antarctica.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2008, 11:29:48 PM by Tom Bishop »

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #17 on: April 12, 2008, 08:47:16 PM »
That looks exactly like the sun to me. Especially on a cold winter day. Anyone else seeing a star in those photos? Perhaps one roughly 8 light minutes away?
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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #18 on: April 12, 2008, 10:02:31 PM »
Nope. It's not the sun. It's some kind of starry glare reflecting off of the ice crystals of the upper polar strata.

Here's another Midnight Sun image:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b5/Midnight_sun.jpg/800px-Midnight_sun.jpg

As we can see, this is clearly not the actual sun, but rather a glare where light bounces and cumulates to a point manifesting as a big bright splotch in the sky.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2008, 10:49:33 PM by Tom Bishop »

Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #19 on: April 12, 2008, 10:22:55 PM »
Bullshit detected.

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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #20 on: April 12, 2008, 10:55:22 PM »
When the sun is in its southern annulus its spotlight touches the ice crystals in the upper southern polar strata which circles the earth along the Antarctic coast. The rays of the sun are displaced and reflected along that reflective path. The light is bounced in every direction like a house of mirrors, creating a sort of perpetual day all along the Antarctic coast.

The powerful rays of the sun, bounced in every which way along the polar strata, will combine and amalgamate at various points creating a glare which might be mistaken for a sun. This is the "midnight sun" effect. This glare does not take place at any one specific point on the Ice Wall, but at every point. No matter the observer's location along the Ice Wall, he will see an amalgamated concentration of light creating a glare in the sky. If the observer follows the midnight sun he will never reach it, the glare will recede farther and farther back forever unreachable. Each sun is unique to the observer's location, a result of displaced light combining to a point.

As a weak analogy lets imagine a polished billiard ball in a room with a single light source overhead. As we turn the billiard ball the reflection, or glare, of the light will stay stationary. If we move our heads up and down or left to right to the ball the glare will move along the surface of the ball with our new vantage point. If we physically move the ball up or down or left or right the glare will move in tandem. At all points, no matter where or how much the ball is moved, there will be an area there the rays of the lightsource combines and forms a glare. If there are two observers in the room they will both see two different glares located at two different points upon the billiard ball.

The same effect happens with the midnight sun; no matter where the observer is located he will see a point where the sun's rays are compounded and banded together forming a starry glare in the sky overhead.

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #21 on: April 12, 2008, 11:12:44 PM »
Quote from: Tom Bishop
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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #22 on: April 12, 2008, 11:25:50 PM »
That's not a very good rebuttal.

A good rebuttal would comprise of evidence demonstrating that the Midnight Sun is the actual sun and not a starry glare as it appears to be. If you guys aren't going to give a coherent rebuttal, I'm going to assume that means you have none at all.

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #23 on: April 12, 2008, 11:30:59 PM »
That's not a very good rebuttal.

A good rebuttal would comprise of evidence demonstrating that the Midnight Sun is the actual sun and not a starry glare as it appears to be. If you guys aren't going to give a coherent rebuttal, I'm going to assume that means you have none at all.
Your evidence is non-existant. My evidence is in those pictures, as well as the sun I see on cold days (-40F/C and below).
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jdoe

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #24 on: April 12, 2008, 11:50:20 PM »
Quote from: Tom Bishop
At the far reaches of the sun's spotlight where the rays are creating their most shallow tangent into the earth's surface the observer will see the sun appear to intersect with the horizon as the spotlight of the sun passes by overhead.

My diagram shows that the sun's rays will not make a sufficiently 'shallow tangent into the earth's surface' in order for the observer to see the sun set.  25 degrees is not even close.  You explanation is lacking.

Quote
Nope. It's not the sun. It's some kind of starry glare reflecting off of the ice crystals of the upper polar strata.




I can't believe you are denying that the object in these two photos is the sun.  By all appearance, this object looks like the sun.  It's bright.  It's round.  It's got rays emanating from it.  Show this to any 5-year-old, and they will say it is the sun.  It is you who must show that this object is an illusion and, in fact, not the sun.
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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #25 on: April 13, 2008, 01:40:52 AM »
When the sun is in its southern annulus its spotlight touches the ice crystals in the upper southern polar strata which circles the earth along the Antarctic coast. The rays of the sun are displaced and reflected along that reflective path. The light is bounced in every direction like a house of mirrors, creating a sort of perpetual day all along the Antarctic coast.

The powerful rays of the sun, bounced in every which way along the polar strata, will combine and amalgamate at various points creating a glare which might be mistaken for a sun. This is the "midnight sun" effect. This glare does not take place at any one specific point on the Ice Wall, but at every point. No matter the observer's location along the Ice Wall, he will see an amalgamated concentration of light creating a glare in the sky. If the observer follows the midnight sun he will never reach it, the glare will recede farther and farther back forever unreachable. Each sun is unique to the observer's location, a result of displaced light combining to a point.

As a weak analogy lets imagine a polished billiard ball in a room with a single light source overhead. As we turn the billiard ball the reflection, or glare, of the light will stay stationary. If we move our heads up and down or left to right to the ball the glare will move along the surface of the ball with our new vantage point. If we physically move the ball up or down or left or right the glare will move in tandem. At all points, no matter where or how much the ball is moved, there will be an area there the rays of the lightsource combines and forms a glare. If there are two observers in the room they will both see two different glares located at two different points upon the billiard ball.

The same effect happens with the midnight sun; no matter where the observer is located he will see a point where the sun's rays are compounded and banded together forming a starry glare in the sky overhead.
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Tom Bishop

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #26 on: April 13, 2008, 01:47:33 AM »
Quote
Your evidence is non-existant. My evidence is in those pictures, as well as the sun I see on cold days (-40F/C and below).

So you're saying that you don't have a rebuttal? That's all I needed to know.

Quote
I can't believe you are denying that the object in these two photos is the sun.  By all appearance, this object looks like the sun.  It's bright.  It's round.  It's got rays emanating from it.  Show this to any 5-year-old, and they will say it is the sun.  It is you who must show that this object is an illusion and, in fact, not the sun.

Five year olds know that the sun is shaped like a ball, not starry glares which splotch the sky.

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #27 on: April 13, 2008, 02:00:07 AM »
Quote
Your evidence is non-existant. My evidence is in those pictures, as well as the sun I see on cold days (-40F/C and below).

So you're saying that you don't have a rebuttal? That's all I needed to know.
How can you rebut a non-argument?
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there is no optical light, there is just light and theres no other type of light unless you start talkling about energy saving lightbulbs compared to other types of light bulbs
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jdoe

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Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #28 on: April 13, 2008, 02:52:43 AM »


http://adlib.blogs.com/photos/scarborough/scarborough_sunrise.html

So do you think the image on top, which is just a normal sunrise, is a 'starry glare' too?  You're basing your claim on shaky, purely subjective evidence.  Not all photographs give nice round images of the sun.  With all preconceptions aside, can you honestly say that this is not the sun?

When I see a bright object with rays coming from it, it's the sun.  Ask anyone on the street, and they will say that these images show the sun.  This is just like your window argument.  The earth obviously looks flat; the burden is to prove otherwise.  Likewise, this object obviously appears to be the sun.  The burden is on you to prove that it is not.
Mars or Bust

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Tom Bishop

  • Flat Earth Believer
  • 17920
Re: Shape of the sun's spotlight
« Reply #29 on: April 13, 2008, 03:18:56 AM »
Maybe that's also a starry glare. You don't know that. We don't know when or where that picture was taken.

If we go by the image name we see that it was taken in Scarborough, a northern city in the UK. It's likely that what's in that image is the Northern Arctic's Midnight Sun. The photographer probably took that photo because it was a funny looking thing in the sky.

Lets do a test here. I'm going to Google Image Search for "Sunset" and see what comes up.

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&q=sunset

Now I'm going to do a Google Image Search for "Glare" and see what comes up.

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&q=glare

Ask any child of five what the Midnight Sun images most look like and they will undoubtedly pick the latter.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2008, 03:26:22 AM by Tom Bishop »