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Q124 (IAS/1996) Science & Technology › Basic Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) › Astronomy and astrophysics Answer Verified

Consider the following statements : A person in a spaceship located half way between the earth and the sun will notice that the I. Sky is jet black. II. Stars do not twinkle. III. Temperature outside the spaceship is much higher than that on the surface of the earth. Of these statements

Result
Your answer: —  Â·  Correct: D
Explanation

All three statements are correct. In interplanetary space there is no atmosphere to scatter sunlight, so the sky appears jet black even in sunlight. Twinkling (stellar scintillation) is produced by atmospheric refraction and turbulence as starlight traverses Earth’s atmosphere; without that atmosphere stars appear steady and do not twinkle [1]. Finally, a spacecraft halfway toward the Sun receives much stronger direct solar radiation than a surface point on Earth; exposed external surfaces therefore can reach much higher temperatures (and spacecraft routinely face large temperature extremes in sunlight versus shadow) because there is no convective cooling in vacuum [2].

Sources

  1. [1] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 10: The Human Eye and the Colourful World > Twinkling of stars > p. 168
  2. [2] https://www.amu.apus.edu/area-of-study/science/resources/why-is-space-not-always-cold/
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