Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

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back.
This supports the idea that the partlcles probably are pushed outward by
t he expanding steam from the capsule, before they begin to stream backward.
It
l s probable that many of the particles lodge on the outside of the capsule,
since Carpenter i s quite sure, from the direction of streami ng across the
wi ndow, that the particles came from a point near where the knocking was done.
Carpenter obtained two excellent photographs of the sun when just
abov~ the horizon.
These photog.ra:phs plainly sh~w. the flatte~ed,, sa\.lsage- . .. ·kc.h""' ,,+ ~\:~
Ct, fft.,;~c. ( n~'(':, thh \- v:,h .. 1" \\(. ';,(..\.v .,.,_,, \ , \(~ \-h<v ~h-'- y--r,'> •,,110,v I>' • ~"',\,( ei,., tr,-,, ,1 ·t )c,.,.., ,rr
l " '"~ '>
shaped f onn photographed earlier by Glenn.,'\ Calculations of this theoretical
shape are being made at this ,time for compar.ison with the astronaut observations .
The flattened shape is due to the fact that the lower portion of the sun's di sk
is seen through layers whtch refract the l.ight much more strongly than those
through which the upper part is seen.
As a conse~uence, the whole d Lsk appears
flattened.
A similar, but much smaller flatten ing has long been known to be
observable f rom the ground.
A part of the i nterest of tht s phenomenon comes
from the fact that at great distances, as at the moon, the effect of this re­
fract i on is to make the sun appear as a red ring of light around the earth.