esrosedotblog

FLASH

This is the time of year that we always went to the Caribbean for three weeks. St. Croix.

There we encountered the mysteries of the "green flash".

Hotly contested at the sunset gathering, in our resort, the faithful split from the agnostics and atheists over the question of whether the "flash" existed or not.

We joined the fray and, after a few sunsets, saw the "flash". We were born again.

Many still deny its existence but this posting today from APOD tells the true story.

There is a green, sometimes blue, flash and it is good.

A Green Flash From the Sun

Conditions need to be right to see it. In the photo shown, not the APOD, there are two things that favor the flash. One is that the air is hazy. The other is that the photographer had the luck to snap at just the right instant.

You can go to Google images for photos of the flash and most of them do not show green at all. The finger is slower than the eye.

The other thing about this controversy, particularly in resort settings, is that it provides safe and sane opportunity for argument over drinks.

Beats politics and religion every time.

Labels: APOD, astronomy, astropix