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
     __________________________________________________________________

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    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/