Green Flash
A green flash is a flash of green light, created during sunset at the top edge of the sun. You can see it over a mountain top, the ocean, or a prairie during a clear and cloudless night. Similar to the mirage, the refraction of light bends the light. This creates an illusion of the sun appearing above it's normal appearance without an atmosphere. The appearance of the bottom of the sun at sunset hits the top of where the sun would be without an atmosphere. Here's the visual, taken from Paul Doherty's page explaining the green flash.
The pace of the light depends on it's wavelength, or it's color. The blue light is "slowed more than red light. Thus blue light is bent more by the atmosphere than red light." (Doherty, 1999). The sun's light yellowish color is created from the many different wavelengths of the different colors. The colors are bent with different angles. The red color appears below the green color, which is below the blue color:
The horizon blocks off the colors seen below the green light when the
sun is setting. This is when the top edge of the green color is
most visible, which happens over a quick moment. The blue light
is scattered throughout the sides of the sky and is not as visibly seen
as the green light is. Pictures of green lights can be found within Paul
Doherty's page.
Red Sun
The red sun is a result of the low position of the sun during sunrises and sunsets. This is another form of light's refractions. As explained above, the upper blue light is scattered and the green light is not clearly visible, leaving the color of the sun a beautiful bright red. More details and a great visual diagram of this occurance can be found in HyperPhysics.
A green flash is a flash of green light, created during sunset at the top edge of the sun. You can see it over a mountain top, the ocean, or a prairie during a clear and cloudless night. Similar to the mirage, the refraction of light bends the light. This creates an illusion of the sun appearing above it's normal appearance without an atmosphere. The appearance of the bottom of the sun at sunset hits the top of where the sun would be without an atmosphere. Here's the visual, taken from Paul Doherty's page explaining the green flash.
The pace of the light depends on it's wavelength, or it's color. The blue light is "slowed more than red light. Thus blue light is bent more by the atmosphere than red light." (Doherty, 1999). The sun's light yellowish color is created from the many different wavelengths of the different colors. The colors are bent with different angles. The red color appears below the green color, which is below the blue color:
Red Sun
The red sun is a result of the low position of the sun during sunrises and sunsets. This is another form of light's refractions. As explained above, the upper blue light is scattered and the green light is not clearly visible, leaving the color of the sun a beautiful bright red. More details and a great visual diagram of this occurance can be found in HyperPhysics.
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