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Fenomene La Ceahlau
Fenomene La Ceahlau
Introduction
When we observe sunset and mirage phenomena, we're usually standing on the surface of
the Earth. But standing on the
surface doesn't mean our eyes
are at the surface. Even at sea, if
your eyes were at the surface of
the water, your nose would be
under it; this isn't a tenable
position for very long.
Diagrams in textbooks are often
drawn as if the observer is at the
surface of the Earth partly
because the height of the eye is
very small compared to the size
of the Earth: a person's eyes are
about 1.6 meters above the
ground, but the radius of the
Earth is over 6 million meters.
But, in this case, very small
isn't the same as negligible.
Let's work it out: