Green Flash: Sunset Phenomenon - What is it? Who has ever seen it? Who has pictures to share? A green flash, which occurs more commonly at sunset — but can also occur at sunrise — is a phenomenon in which part of the sun can be observed suddenly and briefly changing color. It usually lasts only a second or two — which is why it is referred a flash — as the sun changes from red or orange at sunset, for example. The green flash is viewable because refraction bends the light of the sun. The atmosphere acts as a weak prism, which separates light into various colors. When the suns disk is fully visible above the horizon, the different colors of light rays overlap to an extent where each individual color cant be seen by the naked eye. When the sun starts to dip below the horizon the colors of the spectrum disappear one at a time, starting with those with the longest wavelengths to those with the shortest. At sunrise, the process is reversed, and a green flash may occur as the top of the sun peeks above the horizon. - credit Livescience. livescience/26376-green-flash.html
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 13:56:01 +0000
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