Talk:Green flash

Comment

PAGE IS A MESS, pictures over text and vice versa. Someone clean it up? I don't know how.Mzmadmike 14:43, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

The current article seems to balance the different viewing opportunities, ". . usually seen at an unobstructed horizon, such as over the ocean, but are possible over cloud-tops and mountain-tops as well." I can't speak to viewing over cloud tops but I have seen it from sea level in Kenai, Alaska looking west over 4,000-foot mountains. The sun had just set into a distinct notch in the horizon so it does not have to be a flat horizon. And I know a reliable viewer who saw a green flash from the Sierra Nevada range in California (8,000 feet?) while looking over the Coast Range (2,000-4,000 feet). DavidinKenai (talk) 16:55, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

Previously the article said that you both needed a low line of hills and an unobstructed view of the horizon. I kept the unobstructed view as I know an amateur astronomer who just saw it for the first time last month over the ocean. Is there any reason a low line of hills would also work? --rmhermen

A key issue seems to be atmospheric layering and 'the right conditions'. It could be a low line of hills would help keep things still and enhance the layering? User:Rjstott In any event the effect is enhanced by a low horizon.

I've seen it just once, but quite impressive. Like all other references I recall, it was over the ocean, seen from the waterfront. All references I recall also call it the green flash, so I'm thinking that might be the preferred page title, but maybe others' experience differs?--Richard Jones 13:28, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Page title

(William M. Connolley 20:15, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)) I think the common name for this is green flash. green ray is less common. Google gives GF 35k and GR 9k (but this is complicated by other things that match). This page [2] even says that GR and GF are different things!

I just moved it to "Green flash" and I mentioned that green ray and green flash are not completely synonymous. AxelBoldt 23:47, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

Picture

This page needs a picture. It would be nice if we could find an uncopyrighted one, or if someone would take one (easier said than done, I know) and release it under the GFDL. Wmahan. 21:58, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

Green flash in the media

Does this refer to the green flash legend from the Florida Keys? If so, I could reference Carl Hiassen's new book "Flush" in this article. (I'm actually reading it right now, so I thought I'd ask...) Mattderojas 23:24, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

I recently did a whole slew of research on the Green Flash and hope to greatly expand the article when I have time. I was recently reading Flush, too, and I was surprised when I read about the Green Flash. I added it to the article. --M@thwiz2020 01:24, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

Floridian literature and Floridians themselves, up and down the peninsula, are steeped in the green flash. I added a reference to a well-known example, the 1962 novel A Flash of Green by John D. MacDonald, who arrived in Florida in 1949. The 1984 film by Victor Nuñez (Ulee's Gold) starring Ed Harris is an adaptation of the MacDonald novel. Rt3368 (talk) 02:01, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

Blue flash

"Very occasionally, the amount of blue light is sufficient to be visible as a "blue flash". (This is not to be confused with the blue flash reported to occur during nuclear criticality accidents.)" – HA HA HA, who the hell would confuse a blue flash of the setting sun with a nuclear criticality accident? :P Bossk-Office 00:31, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Someone seeing it suddenly, while otherwise engaged, during a threat scenario. Unlikely, but possible. Would you prefer they didn't specify? But seriously, people come to an encyclopedia because they don't know the answer. If there are two answers, they need access to both. Mzmadmike 14:42, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

It's not the two phenomena which are confusable, it's the fact that the same term is used to name them. The wording was obviously an attempt at disambiguating the usage, which is valid since someone searching for 'blue flash' will be led here.220.239.3.5 00:50, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

On Tuesday afternoon at around 6 pm December 9, 2014 I was at Ke'e beach, Ha'ena, Kauai to observe the sun set over the ocean, the only location in North Kauai you can see the sun set over the ocean at this time of year. It soon became apparent that I would not see the sun set on the ocean as there was a dark layer of cloud just covering the horizon. But even better, I watched the sun as the tip disappeared when it went down behind the cloud and saw the most gorgeous PURPLE BLUE flash. (The previous day, with no clouds on the horizon, also with binoculars, I had seen an excellent emerald flash.) Very enjoyable. 69.199.125.229 (talk) 03:50, 21 December 2014 (UTC)Dr. Raymond Schep.

removing pictures

Everybody, before you remove a picture, please, ask yourself few quesions: "What do I know about green flashes? How many I've seen myself and am I really qualified to decide what picture to remove?" Thank you. Mbz1

Wikipedia is not your image repository. Please do not get upset because someone removed one or mroe of the eight hojillion images you added to this page. Jeez. Assume good faith, my friend. Assume good faith. // 24.250.125.206 13:15, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

I hope no one minds, I removed the fourth image (an animation) as I didn't think it added anything and was pretty jerky. The image above has something very similar running across the bottom as a film strip. I also re-arranged the text to make to formatting better. I think the article looks fine now but content could do with some work. Seems like a good subject

CaptinJohn 15:45, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

• Please help ensure that all free-use images are uploaded to Commons, as opposed to here on the English Wikipedia. Also, please add them to the page on Commons at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Green_Flash. That way, they will still be available even if they are removed from this article. Unlike this article, Commons pages actually are image repositories. Thanks! JohnMGarrison (talk) 03:51, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

The Gallery section currently has 18 photos of essentially the same orange blob with a barely perceptible green tinge on top. Certainly this can reduced to only the best examples of the phenomenon. I have tagged the article appropriately so as solicit opinions as to what should be moved and/or removed. — Senator2029 (talk) 00:27, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Acknowledgments

I'd like to thank Dr. Andy Young for his help in the writing of green rim section of the article. Not only he has the most comprehensive explanation of mirages and green flashes, not only he has the most comprehensive Annotated bibliography of mirages, green flashes, atmospheric refraction, etc., but he also responded hundreds of my questions via e-mails.--Mbz1 (talk) 18:12, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Pirates

should it be noted that the Green Flash is used in PotC: at worlds end, where it symbolyses the soul crossing from the land of the dead? Lord loss210 (talk) 18:25, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Speed of light

I don't know enough about the phenomenon but I'd argue with the assertion that "light moves more slowly in the lower, denser air than in the thinner air above". If anyone knows what this really means in the context of the article, please feel free to modify it (i.e. better than I feel I can). —Preceding unsigned comment added by AstroWiki (talk • contribs) 13:09, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

• Yes it does. That is why light is refracted.JMcC (talk) 12:23, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Fata Morgana

Is there a link to be made with Fata Morgana (mirage)? JMcC (talk) 12:23, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

Explanation of green flashes

I removed the paragraph about "There are problems with the explanation of the cause of the green flash". It was added by 207.103.7.226 without any supporting citations. Even though the index of refraction of air is very small, it can still be enough to deflect light noticeably because of the very long distance it travels through the atmosphere while undergoing small amounts of refraction. The reason the flash is so small is because most of the sun has set below the horizon. The green rim phenomenon demonstrates that the entire image of the sun can be affected: green light from the whole image is preferentially shifted upward, causing a small but noticeable green tint at the top (and red at bottom) of the image. It seems that whoever added this paragraph didn't personally understand the phenomenon, but that doesn't mean the phenomenon lacks a scientific explanation. Perhaps the intent of 207.103.7.226's edit was to request clarification in the explanation, in which case he should have edited the Talk page (and this should now clarify it). Rotiro (talk) 18:51, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

The explanation section doesn't currently include an actual explanation. Can someone source one and add it? Otherwise perhaps the secction should be renamed to reflect the text, which discusses best viewing opportunities. (Anonymous) 16:16, 14 June 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.216.138.253 (talk)

I agree, the explanation section urgently needs an actual explanation. This is probably what most people coming to this article are looking for. --seberle (talk) 11:29, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

How is this for an explanation, provided by (relatively) recent research at the Washington University Medical School? In synopsis, the human eye is actually capable of accidentally seeing infrared light. When strong, clear, and very bright infrared light enters the human eye, it's capable of "double hitting" a retina cell, where two infrared photons work together to become visible, while one infrared photon alone is not. So of all irony, the green flash is actually super-bright infrared being refracted and magnified like a lens by the atmosphere, double-hitting our retinas and causing a bright green sensation. I'm so curious about the reports of blue flashes and purple flashes as well. This is as much a biological phenomenon as a meteorological one- could infrared "double-hits" manifest as different colors for different people? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Carl.r.larson (talk • contribs) 05:59, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

Hey, me, Carl, again, I am wondering folks, does this "Green Flash" not attach conceptually to both relativity AND quantum physics (via that infrared light being quantized / up-classified / amplified in wavelength so we can see it as potentially green, blue, purple, or even could this be an explanation for why we see double (and sometimes even triple) rainbows as well? Will the theoretical equations that are written about this become the first bridges across the "Theory of Everything" that aims to unite Einstein's Relativity with the field of Quantum Physics? If we had a planetary-sized, perhaps, silicate-biotelescope driven by AI in a century from now, could we see a "Green Flash" on an exoplanet? Do the equations that govern this phenomenon require avenues that attach to relativity as well as quantum physics? Are we not looking at *a* "holy grail" of physics when we see the Green Flash? I am a believer in the "Many Paths" approach to enlightenment, and suspect there will be more theories that require equations that bridge the relativity-quantum physics gap, but this phenomenon, for one, seems to demand that of astrophysicists. I humbly need to re-read the equations and remain a conceptual / theoretical commenter, LLAP y'all! Carl.r.larson (talk) 19:49, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

References

File:Development of Green Flash.jpg to appear as POTD soon

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Development of Green Flash.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on October 10, 2011. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2011-10-10. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :) Thanks! howcheng {chat} 17:28, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Picture of the day

A composite photo showing the development of a green flash, an optical phenomenon that occurs at sunset or sunrise, when a green spot or ray is visible above the sun. Green flashes occur because higher frequency light (green/blue) curves more than lower frequency light (red/orange), so green/blue rays from the upper rim of the sun remain visible after the red rays are obstructed by the earth.Photo: Mila Zinkova

Explanation

The explanation section doesn't actually explain what a green flash is. It opens with 'Green flashes are enhanced by mirage', and continues in that vein. The real explanation for a green flash is found in the Green rim section. Quite odd, don't you think? Tomásdearg92 (talk) 15:21, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

I tend to think of a green flash in general as the last bit of the green rim being the only thing that is visible as the sun sets. Usually this would be only moderately visible. This can be magnified and made brighter by mirage effects. The green rim is caused by atmospheric dispersion, where density gradients in the atmosphere act like a prism and slightly spread out the light of low objects into a vertical spectrum. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.75.201.73 (talk) 18:52, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

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Before or After Sunset (and Sunrise)?

The page currently states a green flash occurs "right after sunset or right before sunrise". However, since the precise definition of sunset is when the top edge of the sun disappears below the horizon, and the pictures clearly show the green flash while a portion of the sun is still visible, surely this should read "right before sunset or right after sunrise"? Peace Makes Plenty (talk) 15:14, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

I agree with you, according to precise definition of sunset, it should be "right before sunset or right after sunrise". 81.6.34.246 (talk) 00:16, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

Introduction

Can someone familiar with this subject review the introduction? It seems to be based on negative statements that are quite confusing (e.g. the first sentence reads "Green flashes and green rays are NOT meteorological optical phenomena that sometimes occur just before sunset or right after sunrise." emphasis added.) Shouldn't the "not" be taken out? Also, the last sentence of the intro is extremely unclear and seems to be a misinterpretation of the linked source. The source is saying that three of the four types of green flash are more common than the fourth type, if I'm reading it correctly. And please indicate what "Earth NOAA" refers to. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Michijake (talk • contribs) 20:10, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

Stars

Isn't this also related to how stars and bright planets appear to strobe red and green when they are a low angle to the horizon? The first time I ever saw it through binoculars it freaked me out, I didn't even know what it was until it rose higher in the sky and stabilized to one color.

64.222.112.139 (talk) 07:39, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

In Popular culture

The following should be added to the list of references in the "In popular culture" section A Flash of Green A Novel by John D MacDonald. Also a movie made from the novel. Referenced as follows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._MacDonald And: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-d-macdonald/flash-of-green/ ˜˜˜˜ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Donslevin3 (talk • contribs) 19:05, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Hello Donslevin3, and I appreciate your suggestion. I am going to say, thanks, but no thanks. There's no indication that the MacDonald novel bears any relation to the optical phenomenon known as a green flash; any similarity in the title appears to be purely based on the words alone. In any case, the In popular culture section probably needs to be trimmed. Best, Altamel (talk) 05:41, 6 July 2021 (UTC)