The following article appeared in the Dallas Morning News and was picked
up by
them from the Boston Globe.
 
QUESTION;  In Florida, on Captiva
 Island, about twice a week there's an event that
happens.  Just before the sun goes down, a bit blueish-green flash covers
the sky.
They call it The Flashing.  What is it really?
ANSWER;
The flash is a brilliant, emerald-colored spark of light that sometimes
appears
where the last edge of the sun is setting below the horizon.  The
kelly-green ray lasts
a second or less.  This rare sight is startlingly beautiful, say those
lucky enough to
have seen it.  The green flash can also occur at sunrise.
 
Green flashes have inspired literary descriptions--from Chekov to Jules
Verne--
and a wealth of legends.  The Scots claim that anyone who has seen the
green
ray will never err again in matters of the heart.
 
The reason for the flash was long misunderstood.  Some said it occurred
entirely in the eye, or that it resulted from sunlight passing through
waves on an
ocean horizon.
 
Actually the green color results from the refraction, or bending, that
sunlight
undergoes as it passes through the thick layers of atmosphere near the
horizon.  Blue and green wavelengths of light are refracted the most,
just like in a
prism, so the setting sun appears to have a very thin blue-green fringe
on its
top edge.  This fringe is hidden by the glare from the rest of the sun
until all but
the last of the sun's rim is blocked by the horizon.
 
Even then, the atmospheric conditions must be just right.  You can read
more about it in THE GREEN FLASH  By  D.J.K. O'Connell and THE NATURE OF
LIGHT AND
COLOR IN THE OPEN AIR by Marcel Minnaert.
 
To see the green flash you need a distant, sharply defined horizon in the
west--
the ocean serves well.  You also need a very clear day, with the sun
shining
brilliant yellow when setting.  The effect is suppressed if the sun is
dull red.
 
Remember, though, that it is dangerous to stare into the sun; if, you're
looking
for the green flash, wait until most of the sun is below the horizon.
 
 
                              --Boston Globe
 
If you are familiar with Captiva you will remember a restaurant called
Timmy's Nook- if my memory serves me correctly.  The property was sold,
a new restaurant was built, and they called it THE GREEN FLASH.  I tried
to find out what the green flash meant and then this article appeared in
our local paper.  Since, we have watched many beautiful sunsets on
Captiva and Sanibel and so far no green flashes.  But 1999 is another
year.
Ardeth Hardin, Carrollton, Texas
 
 
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