Green Flash - Types

Types

The "green flash" description relates to a group of optical phenomena, some of which are listed below:

Type Characteristics Conditions Best seen from...
Inferior-mirage flash Joule's "last glimpse"; oval, flattened below; lasts 1 or 2 seconds Surface warmer than the overlying air Close to sea level
Mock-mirage flash Indentations seem to "pinch off" a thin, pointy strip from the upper rim of the Sun; lasts 1 or 2 seconds Atmospheric inversion layer below eye level; surface colder than air The higher the eye, the more likely; flash is most obvious when the eye is just above the inversion.
Sub-duct flash Large upper part of an hourglass-shaped Sun turns green for up to 15 seconds; Observer below a strong atmospheric inversion In a narrow height interval just below a duct (can occur at any height)
Green ray Green beam of light either shooting up or seen immediately after sundown; usually few degrees long, lasting several seconds Hazy air and a bright green flash acting as a light source Sea level

The majority of flashes observed are inferior-mirage or mock-mirage effects, with the others constituting only 1% of reports. Some types not listed in the table above, such as the cloud-top flash (seen as the sun sinks into a coastal fog, or at distant cumulus clouds), are not understood.

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