Quote:
Originally Posted by Ernest Wilson
Have I opened a box? The answer seems to be refraction, so if the light bends around a star, then it is diverted because it passes through a denser medium adjacent to the star, so that is why when old navigators on Earth measure a low angle altitude, a correction is subtracted because the light is refracted in the denser medium of the Earth's atmosphere.
I dont mind the fun a bit Al!! I guess the dark bit bends as well***
Ernie.
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Light bends around a star because of the star's gravitational field. The environs around most stars are too dilute to cause any significant refraction of the light passing them. But you're correct in what you said about refraction in the lower levels of Earth's atmosphere.