green flash

I have never seen the green flash when I am with people who see it. I guess I need glasses.:-)

I don't think you'd have had any trouble seeing this one, Tam. Sometimes they're really small and you almost 2nd guess as to whether you actually saw it. Not this one. This one was a beauty - 2nd best I've seen. I saw one last year that shot out as a horizontal line. That one still takes top honors.

Lucky you! Ever since I was 16 and reading Dont Stop the Carnival I've wanted to see an actual green flash. I lived in Queens Quarter back in 1970, so no ocean view-- and now when we visit I've never been lucky enough to see one...

Thanks! Most nights there are always clouds waiting to catch the sun so no green flash. Looked like it was going to be the same thing tonight. There were clouds near the horizon but it was just a thin line of them. The big ol' orange-red ball sank right into the sea without any clouds in the way. It was the brightest green flash I've seen. Anyone else see it?

I have only seen one on island...last year while at Blue Moon. I saw two others....Acapulco and Hawaii many years ago. The daughter of a friend worked in Antartica a few years ago and sent a pix of a green flash that lasted over 45 minutes. Wild!!!!

Several yeas ago an in depth study concluded that most people who see the green flash are drinkinga Heineken at the time.

Seriuosly, last night's sunset was gorgeus as seen from Cane Bay.

I watched the sunset last night at Cane Bay and it was gorgeous but I did not see the green flash, we had about 10 people who agreed we saw a glimmer of green when the sun hit the water but no flash. Maybe I don't know what a green flash looks like.

Green flashes happen quickly and you have to be looking right at them to see them. They don't occur when the sun hits the water, margaritagirl. After the top of the sun sinks into the sea, there's a slight delay - perhaps 2 or 3 seconds. They have the timing down at Coconuts and do a countdown. Each one is different. Last night's flash appeared to be 2 side-by-side bright green spots. I was hoping that someone else saw it to confirm.

There are reports online saying that flashes can occur when the sun drops behind clouds. I've never observed one when the sun sets behind clouds. There are almost always clouds on the horizon here at sunset. If you get one of those rare occasions where the sun sets into the sea, watch closely. Better yet, if you have a camera that is capable of shooting a short video, start filming just before the top of the sun sinks into the sea. They are worth the effort!

aussie,
When does the sun sink into the sea? The elusive green flash is a barkeeper's dream, and a tourist gimmick. It's fun to watch the people claim they saw the flash!

Naw...it's a real phenomenon, Lizard. I'll look for some info and post it.

LOL...it's an expression. You mean that the sun doesn't revolve around the earth and sink into the sea? 😀

Here are but two of the great resources on the net. The first one has links to some great photos and discusses the difference between mirages and optical illusions.

"Green flashes are real (not illusory) phenomena seen at sunrise and sunset, when some part of the Sun suddenly changes color (at sunset, from red or orange to green or blue). The word “flash” refers to the sudden appearance and brief duration of this green color, which usually lasts only a second or two at moderate latitudes. These pages illustrate and explain green flashes, offer advice for seeing and photographing them, and provide information about other refraction phenomena, such as mirages."

http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/

It's easy to pick and choose info from this site.

"One should not forget that green flashes are also seen at sunrise, when the eye has not been previously exposed to bright light, and the retina is in its normal, unbleached state. Sunrise flashes are therefore seen more nearly in their intrinsic colors."

http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/papers/JOSA/GF-vis.html

Several yeas ago an in depth study concluded that most people who see the green flash are drinkinga Heineken at the time. .

😀

I have seen green flashes off the south side of St Thomas, mainly in the winter. I know someone who saw one on sun rise- he was on watch sailing and was trying to figure out where the sun would come up- voila!! It is only imaginary if you have not experienced it. 🙂

And whoever saw one for 45 minutes had to be the Heineken one, unless flashes are judged differently in Antarctica!! That's interesting. The one I saw was instantaneous. Truly just a flash!

aussie,
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I'll keep looking for the flash.

Green flash and it's not even St.Patrick's day

My pleasure, margaritagirl. I hope you see one!

Although unlikely that the flash was continuous, even the reported 45 minute flash may not be Heineken induced. Here's an account from one of Admiral Byrd's expeditions to the south pole:

The Byrd Expedition canard

One often reads (or, these days, hears) that Admiral Byrd saw a green flash lasting 35 minutes. This story has a factual basis; but the story, as usually told, isn't a fact.

Byrd's own very brief description of this episode says merely that the polar sunset was “prolonged” by the Sun

. . . appearing and reappearing from behind the barrier surface.

Hence we had a series of sunsets. The “green sun,” as our men called it, lasted 35 minutes.

Even from this brief account it is obvious that the green was not seen continuously for 35 minutes, but only off and on. A fuller account was published by the expedition's meteorologist, W. C. Haines, who explained that

. . . the sun was skirting the southern horizon, its disk disappearing at intervals only to reappear again a few moments later. . . . The irregularities in the snow surface permitted the upper limb of the sun to appear in one or more starlike points of light from adjacent notches. These points or flares of light would sometimes have a greenish color on their appearance or disappearance. The length of time during which the green flare was visible varied from a fraction of a second to several seconds.... When the sun sank too low to be seen from the ground, it was still visible from elevated points such as the anemometer post or radio towers. The above effect was seen at intervals during a period lasting over half an hour.

Conditions were more favorable for its occurrence when first observed. Later the green appeared for shorter and less frequent intervals, and the orange and red flares increased in frequency.

aussie,
Part of the fun regarding the green flash, is tormenting the "one" who saw the green flash.

LOL...of that I have no doubt! 😀