The place where the sun sets. Incredible facts about sunrise and sunset (9 photos) Sunrise and sunset

1. A star named the Sun.

The sun is an ordinary star, about 5 billion years old. At the center of the sun, the temperature reaches 14 billion degrees. In the solar core, hydrogen is converted into helium, releasing a huge amount of energy. On the surface, the Sun has spots, bright flares occur and explosions of colossal force can be seen. The solar atmosphere is 500 km thick and is called the photosphere. The surface of the Sun is bubbly. These bubbles are called Solar Grain and can only be seen through a solar telescope. Due to convection in the solar atmosphere, heat energy from the lower layers is transferred into the photosphere, giving it a foamy structure. The sun does not rotate like a solid celestial body like the earth. Unlike the Earth, different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds. The equator rotates the fastest, making one revolution in 25 days. With distance from the equator, the rotation rate decreases, and in the polar regions the rotation takes 35 days. The sun will still exist for 5 billion years, gradually warming up and increasing in size. When all the hydrogen in the central core is used up, the Sun will be 3 times more than it is now. Eventually, the Sun will cool off, turning into a white dwarf. At the poles of the Sun, the acceleration of gravity is 274 m / s 2. Chemical composition: hydrogen (90%), helium (10%), other elements less than 0.1%. The sun is 33,000 light years distant from the center of our galaxy. It moves around the center of the galaxy at a speed of 250 km / s, making a complete defense in 200,000,000 years.

It is very interesting to observe the sun with a telescope. Darkening of the solar disk edge, sunspots, flare fields, and even granulation can be considered.

Sunspots are ejections of pieces of magma to a certain height of the solar surface. Sunspots appear on the surface of the Sun unevenly in time and with different intensities (mass, release rate). Therefore, it is still impossible to accurately determine the period of rotation of the star around its axis. A star called the Sun is shrouded in hot and burning gas, the outer layers of which at sunspot height revolve around the Sun faster than the sunspots themselves. Sunspots make a complete revolution around the Sun in 27.5 days (average). More precisely, at the equator in 25 days, and moving away from the equator, the speed of sunspots decreases and at the poles is approximately from 31 days to 36 days. Therefore, scientists decided that the Sun rotates every 25 days at the equator and rotates more slowly at higher latitudes, up to 35 days at the poles.

To see the most characteristic features of the Sun's surface, it is sometimes advised to project an image of the Sun onto a screen in a well-darkened room, and then the Solar Eclipse, the structure of the sunspots and the torch fields can be viewed. For this, a camera is made of black paper, into which the eyepiece is placed together with the screen, but only one person can view the image.

2. Amazing in sunsets.

The observed picture of the sunset depends each time on the state of the atmosphere and is determined by the type and shape of clouds illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. Therefore, one sunset is so different from another. And the sunsets are always extraordinarily beautiful.

What is amazing we see at the sunset. If the sunset is observed with a clear, cloudless sky, the horizon is straight - the sun sets in the sea.

First of all, the reddish color of the setting sun and the same color of the sky near it are striking. Often this color turns out to be pale red, almost pink, but sometimes the sun disk looks bright red and even crimson. According to popular beliefs, if the dawn at sunset or sunrise is golden, light pink, then the weather will be clear. The red setting sun foreshadows windy weather.

Looking at the sun setting behind the horizon through a darkish or slightly smoked glass, it is easy to see that the color of the sun disk has different shades at different points. At the very line of the horizon, it is redder, and at the top of the disk gradually turns into a color of lighter tones. Sometimes the color change on the surface of the solar disk can be seen without any glasses.

Note the vertical flattening of the setting sun. At the moment when the lower edge of the sun touches the horizon line, the diameter of the solar disk in the vertical direction is seen at an angle of 26 degrees, while the horizontal diameter is seen at an angle of 32 degrees.
The green ray sometimes observed at sunset deserves a separate discussion. A bright green light flashes for a few seconds when almost the entire solar disk is hidden behind the horizon. This impressive sight can be observed on evenings when the sun shines brightly until sunset and almost does not change its color, remaining yellow or, in extreme cases, yellowish-orange. Astronomer G.A. Tikhov studied the amazing phenomenon of the green ray for many years. He found out that if the sun at sunset is reddish and easy to look at, then we can confidently say that there will be no green ray. On the contrary, if the sun has not changed its white-yellow color much and sets bright, then we can assume that a green ray will appear. It is important that the horizon has a clear line, without any irregularities: nearby forest, buildings, etc. These conditions are most easily achieved at sea, which is why the green ray is well known to the people of the sea.

Here is a typical description of the green ray, given by one of the eyewitnesses “I was looking at the setting sun. Suddenly, at the moment when almost the entire disk sank into the ocean, the rest of it, instead of yellow-red, turned green, emitted in all directions green, like grass, rays and disappeared. " Jules Verne's novel Green Ray describes the adventures of travelers in search of the green ray. “… If you are lucky enough to see this phenomenon,” it is written in the novel, “then pay attention to the fact that the last ray of the sun turns out not to be red, but green. Yes, yes, it will have a wonderful green color, such a green that no artist can create on his palette. A similar green color cannot be found in the plant world, despite all the multitude and variety of its colors and shades, it cannot be found in the brightest seas. If there is a green color in paradise, then it cannot be otherwise, for this is the real color of hope! " Inhabitants of some islands call the green ray "living light".
Another amazing phenomenon can be observed at sunset. Sometimes the sun seems to be setting not behind a clearly visible line of the horizon, but behind some invisible line above the horizon. Interestingly, this phenomenon is observed in the absence of any cloudiness on the horizon.

If you quickly climb to the top of the hill (to the upper floor of a building, to the upper deck of a large motor ship), you can observe an even stranger picture: now the sun is setting beyond the horizon, but the sun's disk is, as it were, cut by a horizontal “blind strip”. The sun gradually sinks lower and lower, and the position of the "blind strip" in relation to the horizon line remains unchanged.

3. Red light of the setting sun.

Why is the sky blue? Why does the setting sun turn red? It turns out that in both cases the reason is the same - the scattering of sunlight in the earth's atmosphere.

This was not immediately understood. Various hypotheses were put forward at one time to explain the blueness of the firmament. They tried to explain the blue color of the sky as a result of mixing in certain proportions of "light and darkness". It was assumed that the air particles are blue. It was assumed that the blue glow of the sky is the glow of the luminescence of air particles that arise when these particles are irradiated with sunlight. Today, all of these explanations are viewed as untenable.
Their inconsistency was proved more than a hundred years ago, in 1869, when J. Tyndall performed his famous experiment. This experience was replicated at home. A rectangular aquarium filled with water is used and a weakly diverging beam of light from an overhead projector is directed to the wall of the aquarium. To make the beam narrow enough, insert into the overhead projector instead of a slide a piece of thick black paper with a hole in the center with a diameter of 2 ... 3 mm. The experiment is carried out in a darkened room. To strengthen the network beam as it passes through the aquarium, you can add a little milk to the water and stir the liquid thoroughly. The fat particles in milk do not dissolve in water; they are in suspension and facilitate the scattering of light. A bluish tinge can be observed in diffused light. The light passing through the aquarium takes on a reddish tint. And so, if you look at the light beam in the aquarium from the side, it appears bluish, and from the exit end - reddish (Fig. 5.) This can be explained if we assume that the blue color is scattered more than red; when a white light beam passes through a scattering medium. It scatters mainly the "blue component", therefore, the "red component" begins to dominate in the beam emerging from the medium.

In 1871, J. Strett (Rayleigh) explained exactly the results of Tyndall's experiments. He built a theory of the scattering of light waves by particles that are much smaller than the wavelength of light. The law established by Rayleigh states: the intensity of scattered light is proportional to the fourth power of the frequency of light, or, in other words, is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength of light.

If we apply Rayleigh's law to the scattering of sunlight in the earth's atmosphere, then it is easy to explain both the blue color of the daytime sky and the red color of the sun at sunrise and sunset. Since light with higher frequencies are scattered more intensively, then, therefore, the spectrum of the scattered light will be shifted towards high frequencies, and the spectrum of the light remaining in the beam (after the light that has experienced the scattering has left the beam) will be shifted, naturally, in the opposite direction - to lower frequencies, in the first case, the white color becomes blue, and in the second - reddish. Looking at the daytime sky, people perceive the light scattered in the atmosphere; according to Rayleigh's law, the spectrum of this light is shifted towards higher frequencies, hence the blue color of the sky. Looking at the sun, the observer perceives light that has passed through the atmosphere without scattering; the spectrum of this light is shifted to lower frequencies. The closer the sun is to the horizon line, the longer the path light rays travel through the atmosphere before reaching the observer, the more their spectrum shifts. As a result, we see the setting (rising) sun in red tones. It is also quite understandable why the lower part of the setting solar disk looks redder than its upper part.

5. Refraction of light in the atmosphere.

To observe many interesting phenomena observed at sunset (sunrise) of the sun, it is necessary to take into account the refraction of light in the atmosphere. This term is understood as the curvature of light rays when passing through the atmosphere, caused by the optical inhomogeneity of the atmospheric air. Here we are talking not about those local inhomogeneities that are associated with fluctuations in air density, but about changes in air density (and hence the refractive index) with height or during heating and cooling.

Refractive index of the medium n = c / v, where c is the speed of light in vacuum, and v is the speed of light in the given medium; the velocity v is always less than the velocity c and depends on the density of the medium. The denser the air, the less v and, therefore, the higher the refractive index of the air. The density of air decreases with the transition from the lower layers of the atmosphere to the upper ones. It also decreases with heating and depends on the wind.
Distinguish between astronomical and terrestrial refraction. In the first case, the curvature of light rays coming to the terrestrial observer from celestial bodies (the sun, moon, stars, artificial satellites) is considered, and in the second - from terrestrial objects. In both cases, due to the bending of the rays, the observer sees the object in the wrong direction, which corresponds to reality; the object may appear distorted. It is possible to observe the object even when it is located beyond the horizon.
Let's imagine for a moment that the atmosphere consists of optically uniform horizontal layers; the refractive index changes abruptly from layer to layer, gradually increasing in going from the upper layers to the lower ones. This situation is shown in Figure 7, where the atmosphere is conventionally represented in the form of three layers with refractive indices n 1, n 2, n 3, and n 1
In reality, the light beam is not a broken line, but a curved line.

6. Flattening of the setting solar disk.

When the sun is high above the horizon Its disk is circular; the terrestrial observer sees this circle at an angle of 32 degrees. The setting sun disk will be flattened vertically; its vertical cross-section is seen at an angle of 26 degrees, which is 6 degrees less than the angular dimensions of the horizontal cross-section. The refraction of light rays in the atmosphere is to blame. the path of rays from the source to the eye, reflected from the mirror

According to current data, the maximum angle of refraction is 35 degrees. When we, admiring the sunset (sunrise) on the seashore, see how the lower edge of the luminary touched the horizon line (floated out from the horizon), we usually do not realize that in reality this edge is 35 degrees below the horizon line.

It is interesting that the upper edge of the solar disk rises due to light refraction less than the lower one, that is, not by 35 degrees, but only by 29. After all, refraction decreases as the zenith distance decreases. This is why the setting sun seems to the observer to be flattened vertically.

The bending of rays in atmospheric air leads to the fact that the observer sees the sun's disk slightly flattened in the vertical direction.

7. Green ray.

The appearance of the green ray can be explained by taking into account the change in refractive index with the frequency of light.

Typically, the refractive index rises with increasing frequency. Higher frequency beams are refracted more. This means that blue-green rays undergo a stronger refraction than red rays.

Let us assume that there is refraction in the atmosphere, but there is no light scattering. In this case, the upper and lower edges of the solar disk near the horizon should be colored rainbow. Let for simplicity there are only two colors in the spectrum of sunlight - green and red; In this case, the "white" solar disk can be viewed as superimposed green and red disks. Refraction of light in the atmosphere raises the green disk above the horizon to a greater extent than the red one. Therefore, the observer should have seen the setting sun as shown in the figure. The upper edge of the solar disk would be green and the lower edge red; in the central part of the disk, a color shift would be observed, that is, a white color would be observed.

In reality, however, one cannot ignore the scattering of light in the atmosphere. As we already know. It leads to the fact that from the light beam coming from the sun, beams with a higher frequency are eliminated more efficiently. So we will not see the green border on top of the disc, and the entire disc will look reddish rather than white. If, however, almost the entire solar disk has gone beyond the horizon, only its uppermost edge remains, and the weather is clear and calm, the air is clean (so light scattering is minimal), then in this case we can see the bright green edge of the sun along with a scattering of bright green rays.

8. Seeming increase in the size of the setting sun.

Many have paid attention to the fact that at the horizon the solar disk appears to be noticeably larger than at its zenith. The increasing size of the setting sun is nothing more than an optical illusion. Measurements show that the angles at which the sun's disk is seen at the zenith and at the horizon are the same.

How can this optical illusion be explained? Various considerations are expressed on this score. For example, it is believed that the illusion is explained by the psychology of our perception of the "firmament": it appears to us not as a hemisphere, but as a dome, as if pressed (flattened) to the earth's surface. To be convinced of this, let's try to "by eye" divide in half an imaginary arc connecting the highest point of the "firmament" with any point on the horizon. There is no doubt that you will indicate a point on the mentioned arc, the direction to which will be not 45 degrees with the earth's surface, but significantly less; usually indicate an angle between 20 and 30 degrees. The apparent flattening of the "firmament" leads to the fact that when we observe the sun at its zenith, we mentally place it much closer to ourselves than when we look at the setting sun and place it in our minds behind the far line of the horizon. It is known that if a distant object is seen at the same angle as a nearby object, then this means that the first object is larger than the second. Usually we do not even think about the fact that the distant object should be larger in this case; we perceive it so subconsciously. That is why the setting sun appears to us to be larger than the sun at its zenith.

There is another explanation for the illusion of increasing the size of the setting sun. Compared to the previous one, this explanation seems to us to be simpler and more natural. It is associated with the psychology of our perception of the size of objects observed in the long term. As you know, as we move away from us, various objects on the surface of the earth become smaller and smaller in our eyes. We can say that as one approaches the horizon line, the dimensions of objects seem to tend to zero; more precisely, the angle at which these objects are seen tends to zero. In contrast to them, the luminary approaching the horizon line is observed by us at a constant angle; for this reason, it is perceived by our consciousness as exaggeratedly large.

Based on materials from the site.

As the setting of the sun and the rising of the sun occur every day at different times and only due to the rotation around the sun. Otherwise, the heavenly body would be at a constant zenith, which would deprive the Earth not only of sunrises and sunsets, but life itself on the planet would be impossible.

Sunset and sunrise

Sunset and sunrise are periods of time when the upper edge of the Sun is flush with the horizon. The trajectory of the passage of the heavenly body differs depending on from what point on the planet and at what time of the year to observe it. At the equator, the Sun rises perpendicularly from the horizon and sets also perpendicularly, regardless of the season.

Where does the sun rise?

Most people know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. However, this is nothing more than a generalization. In fact, this happens only 2 days a year - during spring and other days the Sun rises from north to south. Every day the points at which the sun sets and the sun rises move slightly. On a day, it rises to the maximum to the northeast. Every day after that, the star rises slightly to the south. On the day of the autumnal equinox, the Sun rises strictly in the east and sets in the west.

Since ancient times, people have tracked the rise and parameters of sunrise and sunset points in great detail. Thus, in ancient times it was possible to navigate in time with the help of jagged mountain peaks along the horizon line or with the help of standing stones built in a special way.

End and beginning of daylight hours

Sunset and Sunrise are Start and End Points It is important to note that both of these phenomena are only brief moments. Twilight is the time range during which day becomes night or vice versa. Morning twilight refers to the time between sunrise and sunrise, and evening twilight refers to the time between sunset and sunset. The duration of twilight actually depends on the location on the planet, as well as on a specific date.

For example, in the Arctic and Antarctic latitudes, it is never completely dark on a winter night. Sunrise is the moment the upper edge of the Sun becomes visible above the eastern horizon in the morning. Sunset is the moment when the trailing edge of the Sun is no longer visible and disappears below the western horizon in the evening.

Daylight hours

And together with it the time of sunset and sunrise is not a constant value. In the northern hemisphere, the days are longer in the summer and the days are shorter in the winter. The length of daytime also decreases or increases depending on the geographical latitude, the higher it is, the shorter the days. As a rule, it is winter time. An interesting fact is that due to the decrease in speed, the rotation becomes slightly longer over time. About 100 years ago, a day was 1.7 milliseconds shorter on average than it is today.

Sunrise - sunset. What is the external difference?

Sunrises and sunsets look different. Is it possible to visually establish these differences if you look at how the sun rises above the horizon, not knowing at the same time the day is ending or just beginning? So, is there an objective way to tell the difference between these two similar phenomena? All twilight periods are symmetrical. This means that there is not much optical difference between the two.

However, two human factors deny their identity. Closer to sunset, the eyes, adapted to daylight, begin to fatigue. Gradually, the light disappears, the sky darkens, and a person cannot adapt as quickly as all this happens. Some shades may not be fully perceived. At dawn, a very different situation is observed.

The darkness of the night adjusts vision to a very sharp and clear vision, and every subtle change in color in the sky is immediately striking. Thus, more colors are perceived at dawn than at dusk. It is this time, due to limited visibility, that is the most dangerous for drivers, so there is a need for artificial lighting. With the onset of dusk, be sure to turn on the headlights.

Every sunrise and every sunset contains many mysteries and secrets. And the fact that we are somewhat ordinary about the miracle of sunrise and sunset, says only that a person rarely sees beauty around him, and increasingly strives for the unknown.

If our planet did not revolve around the Sun and was absolutely flat, the celestial body would always be at its zenith and would not move anywhere - there would be no sunset, no dawn, no life. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to watch the rising and setting of the Sun - and therefore life on planet Earth continues.


Features of the occurrence of sunrise and sunset

The Earth tirelessly moves around the Sun and its axis, and once a day (with the exception of polar latitudes), the solar disk appears and disappears behind the horizon, marking the beginning and end of daylight hours. Therefore, in astronomy, the rising and setting of the Sun is called the time when the upper point of the solar disk appears or disappears above the horizon.


In turn, the period before sunrise or sunset is called twilight: the solar disk is located near the horizon, and therefore part of the rays, falling into the upper layers of the atmosphere, are reflected from it onto the earth's surface. The duration of twilight before sunrise or sunset directly depends on latitude: at the poles they last from 2 to 3 weeks, in the circumpolar zones - several hours, in temperate latitudes - about two hours. But at the equator, the time before sunrise is 20 to 25 minutes.

During sunrise and sunset, a certain optical effect is created when the sun's rays illuminate the earth's surface and the sky, painting them in multi-colored tones. Before sunrise, at dawn, the colors have more delicate shades, while the sunset illuminates the planet with rays of rich red, burgundy, yellow, orange and very rarely green colors.

Sunset has such an intensity of colors due to the fact that during the day the earth's surface warms up, humidity decreases, the speed of air flows increases, and dust rises into the air. The difference in colors between sunrise and sunset largely depends on the area where the person is and is watching these amazing natural phenomena.


External characteristics of a wondrous phenomenon of nature

Since the rising and setting of the Sun can be spoken of as two identical phenomena differing from each other in the saturation of colors, the description of the setting of the Sun over the horizon can also be applied to the time before the rising of the Sun and its appearance, only in the reverse order.

The lower the solar disk descends to the western horizon, the less bright it is and becomes first yellow, then orange, and finally red. Changes its color and the sky: first it is golden, then orange, and at the edge - red.


When the sun's disk comes close to the horizon line, it acquires a dark red color, and on either side of it you can see a bright streak of dawn, the colors of which from top to bottom go from bluish green to bright orange tones. At the same time, a colorless glow forms over the dawn.

Simultaneously with this phenomenon, from the opposite side in the sky, a stripe of an ash-bluish hue (the shadow of the Earth) appears, above which you can see a segment of orange-pink color, the Belt of Venus - it appears above the horizon at an altitude of 10 to 20 ° and with a clear sky visible anywhere on the planet.

The more the Sun goes beyond the horizon, the more purple the sky becomes, and when it sinks four to five degrees below the horizon, the shade acquires the most saturated tones. After that, the sky gradually becomes a fiery red color (the rays of the Buddha), and from the place where the sun disk entered, upward, gradually fading away, streaks of light rays stretch, after the disappearance of which near the horizon you can see a fading strip of dark red color.

After the Earth's shadow gradually fills the sky, the Belt of Venus dissipates, the silhouette of the moon appears in the sky, then the stars - and night falls (twilight ends when the solar disk goes six degrees below the horizon). The more time elapses from the departure of the Sun behind the horizon line, the colder it becomes, and by the morning, before sunrise, the lowest temperature is observed. But everything changes when, after a few hours, the red Sun begins to rise: a solar disk appears in the east, the night goes away, and the earth's surface begins to warm up.


Why is the sun red

The sunset and sunrise of the red Sun has attracted the attention of mankind for a long time, and therefore people tried to explain by all the methods available to them why the solar disk, being yellow, on the horizon acquires a reddish tint. The first attempt to explain this phenomenon was legends, behind them appeared folk signs: people were sure that the sunset and rising of the red sun did not bode well.

For example, they were convinced that if the sky remained red for a long time after sunrise, the day would be unbearably hot. Another sign said that if before sunrise the sky in the east is red, and after sunrise this color disappears immediately, it will be raining. Also, bad weather promised the rising of the red Sun if, after its appearance in the sky, it immediately acquired a light yellow color.

The rising of the red Sun in this interpretation could hardly satisfy the inquisitive human mind for a long time. Therefore, after the discovery of various physical laws, including Rayleigh's law, it was found that the red color of the Sun is explained by the fact that it, as having the longest wave, is scattered in the dense atmosphere of the Earth much less than other colors.


Therefore, when the Sun is at the horizon, its rays glide along the earth's surface, where the air has not only the highest density, but also extremely strong humidity at this time, which traps and absorbs the rays. As a result, only rays of red and orange colors can break through the dense and humid atmosphere in the first minutes of sunrise.

Sunrise and sunset

Although many believe that in the northern hemisphere, the earliest sunset occurs on December 21, and the latest on June 21, in reality this opinion is erroneous: the days of the winter and summer solstices are only dates that indicate the presence of the shortest or longest day of the year.

Interestingly, the farther north the latitude, the closer to the solstice the latest sunset of the year comes. For example, in 2014 at a latitude of sixty-two degrees, it occurred on June 23. But at thirty-fifth latitude, the latest sunset of the year occurred six days later (the earliest sunrise was recorded two weeks earlier, a few days before June 21).


Without a special calendar at hand, it is quite difficult to determine the exact time of sunrise and sunset. This is due to the fact that evenly rotating around its axis and the Sun, the Earth moves unevenly in an elliptical orbit. It is worth noting that if our planet moved around the Luminary, such an effect would not be observed.

Humanity has noticed such deviations in time for a long time, and therefore throughout their history people have tried to clarify this issue for themselves: the ancient structures erected by them, which are extremely reminiscent of observatories, have survived to this day (for example, Stonehenge in England or the Mayan pyramids in America).

Over the past few centuries, astronomers have created the calendars of the moon and the sun by observing the sky to calculate the times of sunrise and sunset. Nowadays, thanks to the virtual network, any Internet user can do the calculation of the sunrise and sunset using special online services - for this, it is enough to indicate the city or geographical coordinates (if the required area is not on the map), as well as the required date.

Interestingly, with the help of such calendars, you can often find out not only the time of sunset or dawn, but also the period between the beginning of twilight and before sunrise, the length of the day / night time, the time when the Sun will be at its zenith, and much more.

If our planet did not revolve around the Sun and was absolutely flat, the celestial body would always be at its zenith and would not move anywhere - there would be no sunset, no dawn, no life. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to watch the sunrise and - and therefore life on planet Earth continues.

Features of the occurrence of sunrise and sunset

The Earth tirelessly moves around the Sun and its axis, and once a day (with the exception of polar latitudes), the solar disk appears and disappears behind the horizon, marking the beginning and end of daylight hours. Therefore, in astronomy, the rising and setting of the Sun is called the time when the upper point of the solar disk appears or disappears above the horizon. In turn, the period before sunrise or sunset is called twilight: the solar disk is located near the horizon, and therefore part of the rays, falling into the upper layers of the atmosphere, are reflected from it onto the earth's surface. The duration of twilight before sunrise or sunset directly depends on latitude: at the poles they last from 2 to 3 weeks, in the circumpolar zones - several hours, in temperate latitudes - about two hours. But at the equator, the time before sunrise is 20 to 25 minutes.

During sunrise and sunset, a certain optical effect is created when the sun's rays illuminate the earth's surface and the sky, painting them in multi-colored tones. Before sunrise, at dawn, the colors have more delicate shades, while the sunset illuminates the planet with rays of rich red, burgundy, yellow, orange and very rarely green colors.

Sunset has such an intensity of colors due to the fact that during the day the earth's surface warms up, humidity decreases, the speed of air flows increases, and dust rises into the air. The difference in colors between sunrise and sunset largely depends on the area where the person is and is watching these amazing natural phenomena.

External characteristics of a wondrous phenomenon of nature

Since the rising and setting of the Sun can be spoken of as two identical phenomena differing from each other in the saturation of colors, the description of the setting of the Sun over the horizon can also be applied to the time before the rising of the Sun and its appearance, only in the reverse order.

The lower the solar disk descends to the western horizon, the less bright it is and becomes first yellow, then orange, and finally red. Changes its color and the sky: first it is golden, then orange, and at the edge - red.

When the sun's disk comes close to the horizon line, it acquires a dark red color, and on either side of it you can see a bright streak of dawn, the colors of which from top to bottom go from bluish green to bright orange tones. At the same time, a colorless glow forms over the dawn.

Simultaneously with this phenomenon, from the opposite side in the sky, a stripe of an ash-bluish hue (the shadow of the Earth) appears, above which you can see a segment of orange-pink color, the Belt of Venus - it appears above the horizon at an altitude of 10 to 20 ° and with a clear sky visible anywhere on the planet.

The more the Sun goes beyond the horizon, the more purple the sky becomes, and when it sinks four to five degrees below the horizon, the shade acquires the most saturated tones. After that, the sky gradually becomes a fiery red color (the rays of the Buddha), and from the place where the sun disk entered, upward, gradually fading away, streaks of light rays stretch, after the disappearance of which near the horizon you can see a fading strip of dark red color.

After the Earth's shadow gradually fills the sky, the Belt of Venus dissipates, the silhouette of the moon appears in the sky, then the stars - and night falls (twilight ends when the solar disk goes six degrees below the horizon). The more time elapses from the departure of the Sun behind the horizon line, the colder it becomes, and by the morning, before sunrise, the lowest temperature is observed. But everything changes when, after a few hours, the red Sun begins to rise: a solar disk appears in the east, the night goes away, and the earth's surface begins to warm up.

Why is the sun red

The sunset and sunrise of the red Sun has attracted the attention of mankind for a long time, and therefore people tried to explain by all the methods available to them why the solar disk, being yellow, on the horizon acquires a reddish tint. The first attempt to explain this phenomenon was legends, behind them appeared folk signs: people were sure that the sunset and rising of the red sun did not bode well.

For example, they were convinced that if the sky remained red for a long time after sunrise, the day would be unbearably hot. Another sign said that if before sunrise the sky in the east is red, and after sunrise this color disappears immediately, it will be raining. Also, bad weather promised the rising of the red Sun if, after its appearance in the sky, it immediately acquired a light yellow color.

The rising of the red Sun in this interpretation could hardly satisfy the inquisitive human mind for a long time. Therefore, after the discovery of various physical laws, including Rayleigh's law, it was found that the red color of the Sun is explained by the fact that it, as having the longest wave, is scattered in the dense atmosphere of the Earth much less than other colors.

Therefore, when the Sun is at the horizon, its rays glide along the earth's surface, where the air has not only the highest density, but also extremely strong humidity at this time, which traps and absorbs the rays. As a result, only rays of red and orange colors can break through the dense and humid atmosphere in the first minutes of sunrise.

Sunrise and sunset

Although many believe that in the northern hemisphere, the earliest sunset occurs on December 21, and the latest on June 21, in reality this opinion is erroneous: the days of the winter and summer solstices are only dates that indicate the presence of the shortest or longest day of the year.

Interestingly, the farther north the latitude, the closer to the solstice the latest sunset of the year comes. For example, in 2014 at a latitude of sixty-two degrees, it occurred on June 23. But at thirty-fifth latitude, the latest sunset of the year occurred six days later (the earliest sunrise was recorded two weeks earlier, a few days before June 21).

Without a special calendar at hand, it is quite difficult to determine the exact time of sunrise and sunset. This is due to the fact that evenly rotating around its axis and the Sun, the Earth moves unevenly in an elliptical orbit. It is worth noting that if our planet moved around the Luminary, such an effect would not be observed.

Humanity has noticed such deviations in time for a long time, and therefore throughout their history people have tried to clarify this issue for themselves: the ancient structures erected by them, which are extremely reminiscent of observatories, have survived to this day (for example, Stonehenge in England or the Mayan pyramids in America).

Over the past few centuries, astronomers have created the calendars of the moon and the sun by observing the sky to calculate the times of sunrise and sunset. Nowadays, thanks to the virtual network, any Internet user can do the calculation of the sunrise and sunset using special online services - for this, it is enough to indicate the city or geographical coordinates (if the required area is not on the map), as well as the required date.

Interestingly, with the help of such calendars, you can often find out not only the time of sunset or dawn, but also the period between the beginning of twilight and before sunrise, the length of the day / night time, the time when the Sun will be at its zenith, and much more.

The sun rises and sets regardless of the season, circumstances and people's mood. It lives by itself. It starts the day and ends it. In our selection you will find beautiful quotes and statuses about sunrises and sunsets. After reading them, you will surely have a desire to wake up at dawn and admire it, and philosophical statements about sunsets will inspire you for a romantic walk at sunset.

A person is looking for happiness all the time, but it is hidden in simple things and is so close. Living in harmony with nature, isn't it happiness? Seeing sunrises and sunsets, isn't it wonderful? Sunrise and sunset are very beautiful, or rather even bewitching phenomena, over which you can observe every day, the main thing is desire.

Dawn is the awakening of people and nature, the beginning of a new day. The sun's rays make their way through trees and houses, with every minute the glimpses become brighter and brighter, the sun rises higher and higher. Dawn is filled with cheerfulness, energy and optimism.

Sunset is a kind of the end of the day. When the sun goes down, the day is drawing to a close. In contrast to the cheerful and optimistic sunrise, the sunset is filled with romance and mystery. It awakens human thoughts, slightly evokes sadness. But, if you observe how the red fireball is buried in the horizon line, with your loved one, then no sadness is terrible for you!

Look at this dawn. This is the eighth wonder of the world. For this you need to live. Enjoy it every morning, enjoy music, freedom. People are not needed for a happy life. Trust me. (Stace Kramer)

To be happy, you need to be alone with nature.

Night cannot last forever ... No matter how endless it may seem, no matter how dark, it is always followed by the dawn of a new day.

Everything has an end, and night is no exception.

Sunset almost always, in all worlds, crimson, bloody, flooded with molten gold, purple - something pathetic, dramatic, alarming in it ... a kind of magnificent funeral of the day according to all classical canons. But a new day is born quietly and dimly. Slightly noticeable gilding, barely perceptible pinkness - in the sea of ​​morning whiteness, tender and light, inspires joy and hope, simply drives away the darkness and everything, without any pathos, pressure and tension. And - a rarely observed sacrament: at sunset we are awake, owls, so to speak, and at dawn we sleep. This is probably why there are fewer optimists in the world than pessimists ... (Max Dalin)

Those who wake up at dawn are born optimists.

Life is measured by sunrises, not sunsets. (O. Demchenko)

Just like the day begins with sunrises, not sunsets.

Everything has its own sunset, only the night ends with dawn. (V. Grzhegorchik)

No matter how lonely and long the night may seem to you, in the morning it will end ...

The sun did not just rise, it surged like a stream and overflowed the whole world. (Ray Bradbury)

The sun fills life not only with light, but also with joy and optimism.

The sunsets are saturated with sadness. Because every time you see him off, you think: no matter how successful or unlucky it was, the day is my day, and it goes away forever. (Elchin Safarli)

Sunset is the result of a day lived.

Have you ever noticed that the sunset is much more beautiful when you admire it with someone you love? (Angela Montenegro)

Dawn, by the way, too ...

One sunset is not like another, the colors of the sky are not the same. (Mark Levy)

Nature does not tend to repeat itself, creating masterpieces.

The gray undertones of dawn are unlike the gray evening twilight, although the colors seem to be the same. At sunrise, light appears to be active and darkness is passive, while in the evening the growing darkness is active, and light drowsily passive. (Thomas Hardy)

On the one hand, sunrise and sunset seem to be similar, but if you look closely, they are so different. Yes, they bring different feelings too ...

Statuses

Dawn comes without the crowing of the roosters.

Dawn does not wait for everyone to wake up, it comes by itself.

Each sunset is beautiful in its own way.

Both sunsets and sunrises have a unique beauty.

There will be a new dawn - there will be a sea of ​​victories! And never believe that there is no way out!

Dawn is another day, another opportunity to correct mistakes and make things happen.

Get up early at dawn and remember that the sunset will come when you are not expecting it at all.

The sun will go down regardless of whether you have done everything or not.

Do not be weaker than the rooster that crows at dawn, and you sleep at dawn.

So I also have to go to bed at 7 pm?)

To enjoy the sunrise, you have to admire the dawn.

Life must be loved with all its sunsets and sunrises.

Sunset with you, dawn with you ... only you - your beloved INTERNET!

You can admire sunsets and sunrises only in nature, and not on the Internet.

I watch the sunset, which lasts three hours at this time of the year. As if the sun, at the last minute before sunset, nevertheless found some dignity in this world and because of this now does not want to leave. (P. Heg)

As much as we want to continue the day, the sun will still go down and night will come.

The most beautiful sunrise is not on the seashore or in the distant Alps. The most beautiful dawn is where you are, and I wake up in love and full of hope!

The dawn is beautiful anywhere, the main thing is the desire to see this beauty.

After the night, there is always dawn, you just need to wait for it and not break.

Better yet, sleep at night and wake up at dawn.

The darkest time is before dawn.

This is the best time to sleep.

Sometimes at sunset you see something extraordinary, which you don’t believe later when you see the same thing in a picture. (A. Chekhov)

Sunset is such a beautiful natural phenomenon that it is sometimes hard to believe that it is happening in reality.

About sea sunsets

Why do you never confuse whether the sun rises or sets when you see it over the sea? (S. Lukyanenko)

All sunsets are beautiful, but the sea ones are special.

The sunsets over the ocean are absolutely mesmerizing. Today it is calm, and the sunset looks like a red orange has decided to drown in the mirror. (B. Akunin)

Sunset evokes many associations, many feelings, it awakens thoughts.

Summer evening, seashore, enchanting sunset - this is happiness!

Real happiness is being close to nature.

Summer is the time of year when we forget about time ... After all, when sea sunrises give way to beautiful sunsets, time stops.

The sea resembles infinity, so no one watches the time there.

And in the evening, watching the sunset on the seashore, and after admiring the stars, you will feel with your soul how beautiful and endless our world is, and what happiness it is that you live here and now.

The sunset by the sea is a truly mesmerizing sight.

When you sail on the sea, joyfully and patiently following the trail of the sun, you leave a trail of troubles and sadness behind your back ...

The sea can hide everything: tears, sadness, and even joyful thoughts ...

The most beautiful things in the world are the sea, sunset and love.

All of them are beautiful in themselves, but if you combine them, then the beauty comes out unearthly ...

In the sky, only talk about the sea. And about the sunset. They talk about how damn cool it is to watch a huge fireball, how it melts in the waves, and a barely visible light, as if from a candle, burns somewhere in the depths ...

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