Refraction at Low Altitudes

Abstract

The analysis of low-altitude observations of celestial bodies specially made for the purpose, indicates that no significant amendment is required to the refraction corrections published in the (Abridged) Nautical Almanac.In recent years there has been an increasing interest in low-altitude astronomical sights, particularly in regard to the accuracy of observation and of the corrections to be applied for atmospheric refraction. As a result of the analysis of many thousand observations made under different conditions, Professor C. H. Smiley had deduced tabular refraction corrections which differed significantly from those in current use and also from those deduced from modern theories. Suspecting some systematic error in Smiley's results, possibly associated with the phenomenon of irradiation, Dr. G. M. Clemence of the U.S. Naval Observatory undertook an independent investigation using observations made at his request by ships of the U.S. Merchant Navy. Although the number of observations was rather small, leading to a fairly large uncertainty in the deduced refractions, there was little possibility of any source of systematic error; the observed values agreed with the theoretical values well within their observational uncertainty, and differed significantly from those of Smiley. A systematic difference between the observed altitudes of the upper and lower limbs of the Sun was ascribed to irradiation (the spreading of a bright image on the retina of the eye, making the diameter of a bright object appear larger than it is) and, taken in conjunction with a similar phenomenon depressing the visible horizon, was allowed for by subtracting 1.2 from the observed altitudes of the Sun's upper limb and leaving those of the lower limb unchanged. This correction was later incorporated in the altitude correction tables of the (Abridged) Nautical Almanac.