If you take a walk at dusk on one of the numerous beaches around San Diego County, you might be lucky enough to spot an event known as a “green flash.”
Specialists at EarthSky explain that this flash of green is visible just after the sun goes down or right before it comes up. Your odds of seeing it are highest at the exact moment the sun is vanishing beneath the skyline. The very top edge of the sun looks green, though occasionally it can look blue.
No, the Green Flash is not a spin-off of the DC superhero
Before we start thinking about Gatsby‘s green flash across the bay, we must tell you this is not a human-made light, but a natural phenomenon. No matter the name you give it, this green spark happens because the atmosphere around our planet refracts and disperses sunlight as the day ends.
If the environment is perfect for viewing, green light hits our eyes while the other colors get screened out. Usually, these ideal circumstances involve a clean skyline without smog, clouds, or mist, which basically covers many locations outside of big cities like Beijing or Los Angeles; while sightings are most frequent over the sea, water isn’t strictly necessary.
You might also spot green hues when the sun comes up, although they are harder to catch then than at sundown, and sometimes show up right on top of the sun instead of spreading across its face. It also seems that my childhood memory was not completely off base: one uncommon type of “flash” really does look like a beam shooting up from the sun.
How can you make sure to catch a glimpse of this light?
So, why is it such a rare sight? One theory is that usually, the flash happens too fast to notice unless an atmospheric inversion layer keeps the color visible for a bit more time. However, I am not entirely certain about that.
My guess is that it is similar to a recipe I received from a bakery I love for the best buttercream cupcakes I ever tried—even though I followed every step exactly, my result wasn’t quite as good. Just like those surprisingly tasty cupcakes, the formula for green flashes likely requires some secret ingredient, since it is hard to know when one will show up even when the conditions seem perfect.
Catching this phenomenon in San Diego isn’t anything out of the ordinary, although it sometimes gets intense enough to make restaurant servers pause their work temporarily. To my mind, this means a winter trip to San Diego is basically mandatory. We are accustomed to seeing many hues during a sunset, but green is not typically part of the mix—and on the rare occasions it appears, the flash is absolutely beautiful.
Legends surrounding this uncommon phenomenon
The green flash is a visual phenomenon that is incredibly tricky to catch, which makes it feel enchanting and magical. Sadly, it only becomes visible when the skyline is unobstructed and specific weather factors align, which we will touch on shortly.
People have shared various myths regarding this green flash, including one that suggests a viewer gains the brief power to read the minds of everyone nearby.
The most persistent beliefs focus on romance. Some say that if a couple watches it together, their bond remains unbreakable for life. Back in the 1800s, a story went around Scotland claiming that anyone who spotted the green light at dusk was truly in love.
Once Jules Verne heard about this tale, he began writing a book centered on the idea, resulting in The Green Ray (1882), which remains one of his more obscure titles. The storyline is quite straightforward: two bachelor uncles from Scotland looking after their orphaned niece, Elena Campbell, try to track down the famous phenomenon to clear up her hesitation before her wedding. Seeing the green light would prove Elena has met her soulmate, meaning she has to go through with marrying her fiancé.