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'Science GIFs' was one of the largest and most active science-oriented collections on the Google+ social network with over 325,000 followers at the time of its shutting down. This website serves as a backup of the content from the collection.

https://plus.google.com/collection/A2NSc

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Green Flash during Sunset

16 January 2016

Green flashes are an optical phenomena that sometimes occur right after sunset. In the correct conditions, a green spot briefly becomes visible above the the sun as it disappears behind the horizon. They occur because the atmosphere refracts and scatters the broad spectrum light of the sun differently depending on wavelength (this is why the sky is blue).

In general, refraction by air (atmospheric dispersion) is larger at shorter wavelengths, which means sunsets last slightly longer for violet/blue/green light than red light. However, because the path length through the atmosphere is greatest when the sun is at the horizon, the effects of scattering are greatly increased (atmospheric extinction). Since scattering affects shorter wavelengths the most, much of the violet/blue light is lost before reaching your eye, thus leaving only the green light briefly visible.

Source: https://youtu.be/lwus2nqU0SY

#ScienceGIF #Science #GIF #Sunset #GreenFlash #Optical #Phenomenon #Refraction #Mirage #Scattering #Sun #Light #Color #Wavelength #Atmosphere #Dispersion #Refract View Original Post on Google+

Green Flash during Sunset