Question

To an astronaut in a spaceship, the sky appears to pitch dark because of

• A. the absence of atmosphere in his neighborhood.
• B. light from the sky is absorbed by the medium surrounding him.
• C. the fact that at height radiations are only in the infrared and the ultraviolet range.
• D. the fact that the human eye becomes blind to the blue color.

Answer 1

The correct option is A

the absence of atmosphere in his neighborhood.

The correct answer is A:

Explanation for the Correct Option:

Option (A):

1. To an astronaut, the sky looks dark and black instead of blue because there is no atmosphere containing air in outer space to scatter sunlight.
2. So, there is no scattered light to reach our eyes in outer space, therefore the sky looks dark and black there.
3. To an astronaut in a spaceship, the sky appears to pitch dark because of the absence of atmosphere.
4. On earth, the atmosphere refracts light coming from the sun, so the sky appears blue.
5. This refraction in the atmosphere occurs due to the presence of various particles in the atmosphere.
6. These particles cause the atmosphere surrounding the earth to have various refractive indices.
7. This causes the light to bend multiple times and results in refraction.
8. Due to refraction, the light gets separated into multiple colors which is called the scattering phenomenon.
9. Scattering is the phenomenon by which a beam of light is redirected in many different directions when it strikes minute particles in the atmosphere.
10. When light passes from one medium to another, say air, or a glass of water, then a part of the light is absorbed by particles of the medium, preceded by its subsequent radiation in a particular direction.
11. This phenomenon is termed a scattering of light.

Explanation for Incorrect Options:

Option (B):

1. We know that in space there is a vacuum.
2. Therefore, there is no medium by which the light from the sky can be absorbed.

Option (C):

1. We receive the light of all ranges of frequency in space.
2. When light enters the earth, ultraviolet radiation is restricted to enter due to the ozone layer present in the atmosphere.

Option (D):

1. The defect of an eye is not dependent on the position of the human being.
2. If a particular color cannot be seen by a human being, it is called color blindness.
3. This is a biological disease.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).