Which of the following is not caused by the atmospheric refraction of light:

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Twinkling of stars at night

Sun appears higher in the sky than it is.

Sun becoming visible two minutes before actual sunrise

Sun appearing red during sunset

answer is D.

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Detailed Solution

Sun appearing red during sunset is not occurring due to the atmospheric refraction of light. When the light from the stars enters the atmosphere it undergoes refraction because of the varying optical density of the atmosphere. As the atmosphere is continually changing the optical density also changes. The continuous changes make the light refract more and make the star bright light refract less which makes the star dim. Which can create a twinkling effect. When the light from the sun enters the earth, it gets refracted from the air. The air is rarer in the upper atmosphere and gets thicker as we come closer to the earth. Which makes light bend while entering the earth and makes the sun appear higher. The same way sunrise appears two minutes before it comes to the horizon. As the sun is just below the horizon its light gets refracted due to the atmosphere and bends downward as we come closer to the earth as the air gets thicker and thicker. The Sun appearing red during sunset is due to scattering of light, not due to refraction.

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