APOD
A Green Flash from the Sun
January 4, 2011Juan Jos� Manzano
(Grupo de Observadores
Astron�micos de Tenerife)
About This Image
Many think it is just a myth. Others think it is true but its cause isn't known. Adventurers pride themselves on having seen it. It's a green flash from the Sun. The truth is the green flash does exist and its cause is well understood. Just as the setting Sun disappears completely from view, a last glimmer appears startlingly green. The effect is typically visible only from locations with a low, distant horizon, and lasts just a few seconds. A green flash is also visible for a rising Sun, but takes better timing to spot. A dramatic green flash, as well as an even more rare blue flash, was caught in the above photograph recently observed during a sunset visible from Teide Observatory at Tenerife, Cannary Islands, Spain. The Sun itself does not turn partly green or blue -- the effect is caused by layers of the Earth's atmosphere acting like a prism. Best Astronomy Images: APOD Editor to speak in Philadelphia tomorrow night and NYC Friday
On This Day in Space History
On January 4, 2004, NASA's Spirit rover successfully landed on Mars in Gusev Crater.
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