The Green Flash
Sailors told of a green flash that sometimes appears just as the Sun sinks into the sea. A legend said whoever saw it could read hearts.
What was reported
In Jules Verne's 1882 novel The Green Ray, a young woman refuses to marry until she has seen the rare green flash at sunset, said by a Scottish legend to let you see clearly into your own heart and others'. She hunts for it along the west coast of Scotland, near Oban and the islands.
The flash itself is real. On very clear evenings, just as the last edge of the Sun disappears below the horizon, it can turn bright green for a second or two.
Explanations offered
The Earth's atmosphere bends sunlight like a weak prism, separating colours slightly, so the green top edge of the Sun is the last to set. It needs a clear, distant horizon, such as the sea, and calm air. The legend appears to have been Verne's own invention.
- When
- Described in 1882, and seen at many sunsets
- Where
- Oban, Argyll, Scotland
- Witnesses
- Sailors and anyone watching a clear sea horizon
- 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.
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