Your Shot — An Emerald Flash

Photo by Kelly Calhoun

Kelly Calhoun of Moclips snapped a picture of a rarely seen “emerald flash” during Sunday’s sunset. According to livescience.com, as the sun sinks into the Pacific, its last light sometimes seems to briefly glow green. This “emerald flash,” as seen above, is caused by light refracting in the atmosphere and a rare sight. It is a phenomenon in which part of the sun can be observed suddenly and briefly changing color. It usually lasts only a second or two — which is why it is referred a flash — as the sun changes from red or orange at sunset, for example. The green flash is viewable because refraction bends the light of the sun. The atmosphere acts as a weak prism, which separates light into various colors. If you have a photo that helps show what life is like here on the Twin Harbors and you want to share it with the rest of the community, email a high-resolution version to photo@thedailyworld.com. Include your daytime phone number, the name of the photographer, a description of what’s happening in the photo, when and where it was taken and the names of the people who are prominent in the shot.