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Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Current Atmospheric Refraction Models In Predicting Sunrise And Sunset Times, Teresa Wilson
Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Current Atmospheric Refraction Models In Predicting Sunrise And Sunset Times, Teresa Wilson
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
The standard value for atmospheric refraction on the horizon of 34', used in all publicly available sunrise and sunset calculators, is found to be inadequate. The assumptions behind atmospheric models that predict this value fail to account for real meteorological conditions. The result is an uncertainty of one to five minutes in sunrise and sunset predictions at mid-latitudes (0° - 55° N/S). A sunrise/set calculator that interchanges the refraction component by varying the refraction model was developed. Two atmospheric refraction models of increasing complexity were tested along with the standard value. The predictions were compared with data sets of observed …