Investigations into the Dip of the Horizon

Freiesleben, H. C.

doi:10.1017/s037346330003486x

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…So the total width of this image depends on the height of the tallest irregularities on the surface: rocks and bushes on dry land, or the largest waves on water. The importance of the dip of the sea horizon for celestial navigation has produced a huge literature on this subject; e.g., [67][68][69][70][71], some of which has been incorporated in the literature of refraction [72] and mirages [73,74].…”

Section: Complicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did Monge really explain inferior mirages?

Young¹

2023

Comptes Rendus. Physique

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Gaspard Monge has received undue credit for his observations of mirages in 1798 in Egypt. He did not discover inferior mirages; they were known to sailors before 1687, and the term mirage had entered the French literature in 1753. Monge's "total reflection" explanation for them was seriously flawed; it had already been considered and rejected by Gruber and by Büsch, and was promptly criticized by others. Yet he continues to be given credit for the first scientific explanation of mirages; and his false total-reflection mechanism survives today in some textbooks. Apparently this is due to its superficial simplicity, which appeals to novices.Résumé. Gaspard Monge a reçu une reconnaissance imméritée pour ses observations de mirages en 1798 en Egypte. Il n'a pas découvert les mirages inférieurs : avant 1687 ils étaient déjà connus des marins, et le terme mirage fut introduit dans les publications françaises à partir de 1753. L'explication par Monge en terme de réflexion totale est gravement erronée ; elle avait été déjà examinée puis rejetée par Gruber et par Büsch, et promptement critiquée par d'autres. Cependant, on continue d'attribuer à Monge le mérite de la première explication scientifique des mirages ; et son idée fausse de réflexion totale survit aujourd'hui encore dans certains manuels. Apparemment, cela vient de son indue simplicité, qui n'est qu'un vernis attirant pour les novices.

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Section: Complicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did Monge really explain inferior mirages?

Young¹

2023

Comptes Rendus. Physique

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Measurements of vertical air temperature gradients with dipmeter

Takenouti

Hyuga

Sakamoto

1970

Journ. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan

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Some Observations of Refraction at Low Altitudes and of Astronomical Position-line Accuracy

Peterson¹

1952

J. Navigation

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No account of the observations described in this paper has previously been published, though they were made nearly eighteen years ago. The author has kindly presented the Institute with all the data he obtained from them and with a detailed description of the investigation. We print here a short account of the observations and of the principal results obtained, which it is felt should go on record.—Ed.Largely as a result of discussions with Dr. Per Collinder of the Swedish Hydrographic Service and Dr. Knut Lundmark, Professor of Astronomy at Lund, the author undertook, between June and August 1934, a series of sextant observations to determine the degree of refraction at low altitudes, the normal accuracy of sights at sea, the accuracy of twilight and night observations and possible elevations of the horizon at noon. 1908 observations were taken during the period.

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Investigations into the Dip of the Horizon

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Did Monge really explain inferior mirages?

Did Monge really explain inferior mirages?

Measurements of vertical air temperature gradients with dipmeter

Some Observations of Refraction at Low Altitudes and of Astronomical Position-line Accuracy

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