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Credit & Copyright: Daniel LÑpez
(El Cielo de Canarias)
Explanation:
Many think it is just a myth.
Others think it is true but its cause isn't known.
Adventurers pride themselves on having seen it.
It's a green flash from the
Sun.
The truth is the
green flash
does exist and its cause is well understood.
Just as the setting
Sun disappears completely from view,
a last glimmer appears startlingly
green.
The effect is typically visible only from locations with a low,
distant horizon, and lasts just a few seconds.
A green flash is also visible for a rising
Sun, but takes better timing to spot.
A dramatic
green flash, as well as an even more rare
red flash, was caught in the
above photograph recently
observed
during a sunset visible from the
Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos in the
Canary Islands,
Spain.
The Sun itself does not turn
partly
green or red --
the effect is caused by layers of the
Earth's atmosphere acting like a prism.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: green flash - Sun
Publications with words: green flash - Sun
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 28 Á Sun Dance
- Prominences and Filaments on the Active Sun
- APOD: 2024 May 28 Á Solar X Flare as Famous Active Region Returns
- APOD: 2024 May 26 Á A Solar Filament Erupts