Green flashes and green rays are rare optical phenomena that occur shortly after sunset or before sunrise, when a green spot is visible for a short period of time above the sun, or a green ray shoots up from the sunset point. An optical phenomenon is any observable event which results from the interaction of light and matter. ... A composite image showing the terminator dividing night from day, running across Europe and Africa. ... A typical sunrise, in New Zealand A sunrise through clouds over Oakland, California. ... For other uses, see Green (disambiguation). ... Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sol redirects here. ...

An unusual green flash in Santa Cruz

3 Green Flashes together

Mock Mirage green flash observed in San Francisco

Mock Mirage green flash observed in San Francisco

Cloud-top Green flash

Green flashes can be observed from any altitude (even from the air). They are usually seen at an unobstructed horizon, such as over the ocean, but are possible over cloud-tops and mountain-top as well. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (3888 × 2592 pixel, file size: 4. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (3888 × 2592 pixel, file size: 4. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 687 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 687 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 496 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Green flashPhotograped by Mila Zinkova in San Franciso on September 17, 2006. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 496 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Green flashPhotograped by Mila Zinkova in San Franciso on September 17, 2006. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 683 pixel, file size: 216 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 683 pixel, file size: 216 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 667 pixel, file size: 237 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 667 pixel, file size: 237 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ... Horizon. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ...

Explanation

The reason for a green flash lies in refraction of light (as in a prism) in the atmosphere: light moves more slowly in the lower, denser air than in the thinner air above, so sunlight rays follow paths that curve slightly, in the same direction as the curvature of the Earth. Higher frequency light (green/blue) curves more than lower frequency light (red/orange), so green/blue rays from the upper limb of the setting sun remain visible after the red rays are obstructed by the curvature of the earth. Green flashes are enhanced by atmospheric inversions, which increase the density gradient in the atmosphere, and therefore increase refraction. A green flash is more likely to be seen in clear air, when more of the light from the setting sun reaches the observer without being scattered. We might expect to see a blue flash, but the blue is preferentially scattered out of our line of sight and remaining light ends up looking green. The straw seems to be broken, due to refraction of light as it emerges into the air. ... For other uses, see Light (disambiguation). ... If a shaft of light entering a prism is sufficiently narrow, a spectrum results. ... Air redirects here. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Smoke rising in Lochcarron is stopped by an overlying layer of warmer air. ... For other uses, see Blue (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Green (disambiguation). ...

With slight magnification a green rim on the top limb of the solar disk can be seen on most clear-day sunsets. However the flash or ray effects require a stronger layering of the atmosphere and a mirage which serves to magnify the green for a fraction of a second to a couple of seconds. Magnification is the process of enlarging something only in appearance, not physical size. ... Sol redirects here. ... This article is about the optical phenomenon. ...

Types of green flashes

The green flash is actually a group of phenomena, some of which are listed below:^[1]

The majority of flashes observed are inferior-mirage or mock-mirage ones, with the others constituting only 1% of reports. Some types not listed in the table above, such as the cloud-top flash (seen as the sun sinks into a coastal fog, or at distant cumulus clouds), are not understood.^[1] For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... In telecommunication, an atmospheric duct is a horizontal layer in the lower atmosphere in which the vertical refractive index gradients are such that radio signals (a) are guided or focused within the duct, (b) tend to follow the curvature of the Earth, and (c) experience less attenuation in the ducts... For other uses, see Hourglass (disambiguation). ... Smoke rising in Lochcarron is stopped by an overlying layer of warmer air. ... For other uses, see Cloud (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fog (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Blue flashes

Very occasionally, the amount of blue light is sufficient to be visible as a "blue flash".^[2] The term should not be confused with the similar usage of blue flash referring to the blue light seen in nuclear criticality accidents. A criticality accident (also sometimes referred to as an excursion or power excursion) occurs when a nuclear chain reaction is accidentally allowed to occur in fissile material, such as enriched uranium or plutonium. ... In nuclear physics, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei or nuclear particles collide to produce products different from the initial particles. ... A criticality accident (also sometimes referred to as an excursion or power excursion) occurs when a nuclear chain reaction is accidentally allowed to occur in fissile material, such as enriched uranium or plutonium. ...

In the media

Writing

• Jules Verne, the early French science-fiction writer, wrote a book named Le Rayon vert (The Green Ray, 1882) whose heroine, Helena Campbell, is chasing this elusive phenomenon. According to legend, those who see the ray will not choose wrong love.

• Victoria Holt, the gothic fiction writer, makes the green flash a major part of her novel, The Pride of the Peacock.

• Carl Hiassen, an American writer, wrote a novel called Flush, in which he mentions the green flash several times and the characters see a green flash at the end of the book.

• Raymond Feist, a fantasy writer, cites the green flash as one of the rare treasures of a life of traveling.

• The green flash features several times in the works of Arthur C. Clarke, British science-fiction writer.

• The green flash is mentioned in the novel Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides.

• There is a fragment in Spanish by Julio Cortazar on the "Green Ray".[1]

• Roger Penrose in his book The Road to Reality includes a green flash in the epilogue.

• Girl of the Sea of Cortez written by Peter Benchley includes writing about a green flash.

• Alec Waugh's novel Island In the Sun contains references to the green flash.

This article is about the French author. ... For the song from The Rocky Horror Show, see Science Fiction/Double Feature. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... For other uses, see Book (disambiguation). ... The Green Ray (Le Rayon vert) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne published in 1882 and inspired from the phenomenon of the same name. ... For other uses, see Hero (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Love (disambiguation). ... Eleanor Alice Burford (September 1, 1906 - January 8, 1993), Mrs. ... Strawberry Hill, an English villa in the Gothic revival style, built by seminal Gothic writer Horace Walpole Gothic fiction is an important genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. ... Photo of Carl Hiaasen by Robert Birnbaum Carl Hiaasen [pronounced hiya-sun] (born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... Flush Pages: 263 Flush is a young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen first published in 2005, and set in Hiaasens native Florida. ... Raymond E. Feist (born 1945) is an American author, mostly specialising in fantasy fiction. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (born 16 December 1917) is a British science-fiction author and inventor, most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same... Middlesex (ISBN 0374199698) is a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. ... Jeffrey Kent Eugenides (b. ... Julio Cortázar (August 26, 1914 - February 12, 1984) was an Argentine intellectual and author of several experimental novels and many short stories. ... Sir Roger Penrose, OM, FRS (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College. ... The Road to Reality is a book by the British mathematical physicist Roger Penrose, published in 2004. ...

Film

• Éric Rohmer, a French film director, made a movie named The Green Ray. The ray is visible in the last scene.

• The green flash is used in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End to indicate that a soul has returned to the world of the living. The characters also have to look for it, as it is the only way to exit Davy Jones' Locker.

Éric Rohmer (born Jean-Marie Maurice Scherer, April 4, 1920, Nancy, France) is a French film director and screenwriter. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... The Green Ray (French: Le Rayon vert) is a 1986 film by Éric Rohmer. ... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see World (disambiguation). ... Look up living in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This is a complete list of islands and other locations in the Pirates of the Caribbean films series. ...

Music

• Sonic Youth's song "Jams Run Free" describes the occurrence in its chorus.[2]

• Sr. Chinarro's album "El Fuego Amigo" contains a song called "El Rayo Verde" ("The Green Ray").

• The Concaves instrumental song entitled "The Green Flash" on their cd entitled Warning, Heavy Surf Advisory is a must hear for green flash freaks

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... A refrain (from the Old French refraindre to repeat, likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the chorus of a song. ...

TV

• In the children’s TV series Arthur, in an episode about New Year's Eve and Arthur's inability to stay up through it, Prunella says that a green flash appears across the sky at midnight on New Year's Day, but if it doesn't appear, it stays the same year for another year.

Arthur is an American and Canadian educational children’s television series which airs primarily on PBS in the United States; CBC Television, Radio-Canada, Knowledge Network and TVO in Canada; and BBC One in the UK, although it has been syndicated to numerous other stations throughout the world. ... For other articles with similar names, see New Year (disambiguation). ...

Food

• The Green Flash Restaurant in Captiva Island, FL
• The Green Flash Restaurant in Pacific Beach, San Diego, California.
• The Green Flash Brewing Company in Vista, California.

Captiva is an unincorporated town located on Captiva Island in Lee County, Florida. ... The view south of Crystal Pier The view north of Crystal Pier Pacific Beach is a neighborhood of San Diego, bounded by La Jolla to the north, Mission Beach to the south, Interstate 5 to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ... Location of Vista within San Diego County, California. ...

References

External links

• A Green Flash Page, Andrew T. Young's page with comprehensive explanations and simulations.
• Green Flash - Atmospheric Optics, explanations and image gallery, Les Cowley's Atmospheric Optics site.
• Green flash photos
• A Green Flash from Astronomy Picture of the Day, NASA
• Short sequence of a green flash