﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 March 28 [2]A distant sunset is seen between an orange sky and dark clouds. A close look at the Sun shows it is topped with several green strips, each known as a green flash. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. A Multiple Green Flash Sunset Image Credit & Copyright: [3]T. Slovinský & [4]P. Horálek ([5]IoP Opava); [6]CTIO, [7]NOIRLab, [8]NSF, [9]AURA Explanation: Yes, but can your green flash do this? A [10]green flash at sunset is a rare event that many Sun watchers pride themselves on having seen. Once thought to be a [11]myth, a [12]green flash is now understood to occur when the Earth's atmosphere acts like both a [13]prism and a lens. Different [14]atmospheric layers create altitude-variable [15]refraction that takes light from the [16]top of the Sun and disperses its colors, creates two images, and magnifies it in just the right way to make a [17]thin sliver appear green just before it disappears. [18]Pictured, though, is an even more unusual sunset. From the high-altitude [19]Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in [20]Chile one day last April, the Sun was captured setting beyond an atmosphere with [21]multiple distinct thermal layers, creating several [22]mock images of the [23]Sun. This time and from this location, many of those layers produced a [24]green flash simultaneously. Just seconds after this multiple-green-flash event was caught by [25]two well-surprised astrophotographers, the Sun set below the clouds. Tomorrow's picture: dolphin vs cloud __________________________________________________________________ [26]< | [27]Archive | [28]Submissions | [29]Index | [30]Search | [31]Calendar | [32]RSS | [33]Education | [34]About APOD | [35]Discuss | [36]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [37]Robert Nemiroff ([38]MTU) & [39]Jerry Bonnell ([40]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [41]Specific rights apply. [42]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC, [46]NASA Science Activation & [47]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/GreenFlashesB_Slovinsky_2048.jpg 3. https://slovinsky.art/en/homeen/#about 4. https://www.petrhoralek.com/#about-1 5. https://www.slu.cz/phys/en/ 6. https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/ 7. https://noirlab.edu/ 8. https://www.nsf.gov/ 9. https://www.aura-astronomy.org/ 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200530.html 11. https://aty.sdsu.edu/bibliog/fallacies.html 12. https://aty.sdsu.edu/index.html 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prism_(optics) 14. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/science/atmosphere-layers2.html 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction#/media/File:Refraction_photo.png 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211110.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150908.html 18. https://slovinsky.art/en/2023/03/23/a-weird-sunset-over-the-pacific-rare-multiple-green-flashes/ 19. https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/ 20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inversion_(meteorology) 22. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mock_sun 23. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/ 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211005.html 25. https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1235390630/photo/dog-and-cat-together.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=Zbrpepdqrxjeoq-MraVIEmRV9QMnOukoxGf6t_JsDO0= 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230327.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 35. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230328 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230329.html 37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 39. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 40. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 42. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/ 45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 47. http://www.mtu.edu/