What is the basic cause of atmospheric refraction?

Question: What is the basic cause of atmospheric refraction?

Atmospheric refraction is caused by the bending of light as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere, which has varying densities of air. This bending occurs due to the gradual change in the speed of light as it passes from one medium to another, which is determined by the refractive index of the medium. As the light passes through different layers of the atmosphere, it bends at different angles, causing distant objects to appear higher in the sky than they actually are. This effect is more pronounced at lower altitudes near the horizon and can cause phenomena such as mirages and the appearance of the sun and moon to be distorted when viewed near the horizon.

 

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