The Green Flash In the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, the green flash signifies the
The Green FlashIn the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, the green flash signifies the return a soul from the afterlife.This is where most of us first heard about the green flash. While the fantasy about the green flash in the movie is rife, there is some truth to it. No, not the part about souls coming back.The green flash is actually an optical phenomenon that occurs in the last seconds of sunset or the very first moments at sunrise. As you can imagine, not many have seen it. The movie exaggerated the flash by lighting up the entire horizon. The reality is quite different. In the dying seconds of a sunset, the sun is visible as a green spot for no more than a second or two. This is the green flash.This phenomenon is not altitude dependent but is easiest seen over the ocean however some have seen it occur over mountain tops. There have also been reports of the green flash being seen from aircraft.The light from the sunset/sunrise needs to be seen by the observer without being scattered in order to effectively view the flash.Very rarely, blue light is visible instead of the green, this results in a blue flash.♞Renesh TImage credit: Thomas “Hank” Hogan, http://home.centurytel.net/Arkcite/grnray.htmPhysics Today December 1999The Green Flash and Other Low Sun PhenomenaD. J. K. O'Connell and C. C. Kiess, ReviewerNational Bureau of Standardshttp://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/phtoad/v12/i3/p52_s1?isAuthorized=noReferences:http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/papers/Zenit/glance.htmlhttp://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/atmos/redsun.html -- source link
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