The Green Flash

Ah, the elusive "Green Flash." Many a sailor has stood quietly at sunset gazing at the horizon as the sun slips lower, lower, waiting for the very second it disappears to see a green flash of color, reputed to be the last sign of the sun for the day.

A San Diego State website gives the following comment about seeing it: "A major problem for people who have never seen a green flash is not knowing what to look for. Flashes are not always green; they are not a “flash” in the sense of a sudden burst of brightness (except at sunrise). They do not (usually) light up the sky, but are often small and inconspicuous."

The website also references an article at the Wilson Observatory that explains that this flash is: "... an atmospheric refractive phenomenon where the top edge of the Sun will momentarily turn green. It is seen rarely by the naked eye, primarily because it requires specific conditions to occur, but also because it requires the observer to know what to look for. Despite the name, there is no "flash"; the event only lasts from a fraction of a second to at the longest, a few seconds." The "rarely by the naked eye" part would explain why despite hours of watching over time I have yet to observe this phenomenon!

For those of you who plan to travel where you will have a view of the ocean at sunset, such as in Tahiti, Hawaii or the Cook Islands, do some reading, get your digital video camera, and see if you can glimpse the elusive green flash!