Sunset-
Photographer captures a rare phenomenon in Hawaii on the horizon during a beautiful sunset. Can be missed with a blink of an eye.
The following written content by Brian Lada
Sunsets can cause the sky to transform into a vivid palette of colors, but on Tuesday, one photographer in Hawaii was focused on the horizon to capture a rare phenomenon that can be missed with the blink of an eye.
Hawaii is known around the world for its beautiful scenery, volcanoes and tropical climate, but being surrounded by water makes the island chain the perfect spot for a photographer to hunt for the elusive green flash.
“I’m going to see if I can get a video of the finely green flash right before the sun dips below the horizon,” photographer Kawika Singson said as he documented his journey to capture a video of the green flash on Dec. 1, the first day of meteorological winter.
Normally around sunset, the sun can appear yellow or orange, but an optical illusion can cause part of the sun to look green for a split second just before the last speck of the sun drops below the horizon. This fast green flare is what is known as the green flash.
But why do the last rays of sunshine appear green?
“The light from a setting sun is bent or refracted downward through the thin atmosphere to our eyes,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck explained.
“Green wavelengths are refracted more than red wavelengths through our atmosphere, so the last color we see is green at the top of the setting sun.”
It is extremely important never to look at the sun with the naked eye, so photographers need to take special precautions to avoid the risk of permanent eye damage while trying to capture an image or video of the phenomenon.
Being in the right place at the right time is key as the mirage only appears when the sun is setting along a flat horizon, making a west-facing beach the best location to spot the flash. It is almost impossible to see from any other landscape.
A little bit of patience is also required as it does not happen during every sunset, only when atmospheric conditions are just right, according to Andrew Young, an astronomy professor at San Diego State University. Read more from MSN.
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