The Blue Sun of 1950
One September day in 1950, the Sun over Scotland turned blue, and that night the Moon did too.
What was reported
On 26 September 1950, people in Scotland and northern England saw the Sun shine a strange blue or lavender through a high haze, and that night the Moon looked blue as well. It made newspaper headlines.
A few days earlier, people in Canada and the north-eastern United States had lived through a 'yellow day', when smoke darkened the sky so much that streetlights came on at midday.
Explanations offered
The cause was the Chinchaga fire, one of the largest wildfires ever recorded in North America, burning in British Columbia and Alberta. Its smoke drifted across the Atlantic, and particles of just the right size scattered red light more than blue, giving the Sun and Moon a blue tint.
- When
- 26 September 1950
- Where
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Witnesses
- People across Scotland and northern England
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.