The Green Flash

There are several weather phenomena that sailors can discuss, but the green flash is one of the most peculiar ones that they have reported seeing. Because the majority of the rest of us won't encounter this in our lifetimes, it appears to be entirely fabricated. However, the flash is real and may be seen without being at water, though being at sea does help.

At sunrise and sunset, the light of the rising or setting sun briefly flashes a vivid emerald green depending on the weather. As enigmatic as the light appears to be, the cause is not. The sun's beams are obliquely directed towards us at sunrise and sunset. At this angle as opposed to when the sun is directly overhead, the atmosphere has a different ability to scatter light rays.

Only yellow-hued light is visible since the majority of the sun's light's color, particularly those shades of blue, is filtered out by our atmosphere. However, there is a fleeting window when the sun is in the proper position when the light reflecting away from us might still manage to sneak through in a spectacular flash of green.