earth, covered by atmosphere—the black part being the earth, the dusky part the atmosphere. Suppose a beam of light is coming in the direction AB from a star, and suppose that at B it comes on the atmosphere it is coming then here exactly under the same circumstances in which in Figure 5 the beam of light comes upon the surface of the prism. According to the law which I have just mentioned, it will be bent in such a manner that its direction after it has entered the atmosphere is more nearly perpendicular to the bounding surface than before. Therefore, in conformity to that law, it is bent in the direction BC, and it reaches the eye of the observer at C, in the direction BC. If you observe the relation which the second line BC has to the first AB, you will see it is more nearly perpendicular to the horizon; or, standing at C on the surface of the earth, you have to look a little higher to see the star than if you were on the outside of the atmosphere, at B; or the star, in consequence of the action of the atmosphere, appears higher. Now this I have mentioned would be the case if the atmosphere had a definite boundary, and were uniform throughout its extent; but the same thing takes place if the atmosphere has not a definite boundary, and varies in density from stratum to stratum the same effect takes place from one stratum of the atmosphere to the next.[1]
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- ↑ Thus, if we suppose the atmosphere to consist of a series of parallel beds or strata, Bc, cd, de, &c. each of which is of uniform density throughout, the ray AB falling on the boundary BD of the uppermost stratum will be bent in the direction Bc, so as to be more nearly perpendicular to
