Huh?
Click on the photo for a larger version. I took a bunch of photos in yet another failed attempt to catch the green flash and they all showed a rather hexagonal-looking sun. What gives?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Search This Blog
About Me
Interests
- Physics & astronomy
- Science in general & scepticism
- Physical geography & geology
- Military history
- Cricket & football (soccer)
- Aviation
- Gourmet cooking
Astronomy blogs
Astronomy websites
Local links
Friends' blogs
Kama'āina blogs
Blog Archive
-
▼
2010
(241)
-
▼
March
(25)
- California Dreamin'
- Two more days...
- Waxing or waning?
- It's not long now...
- Keck 2 and Haleakala
- Opening for business
- The summit
- Hexagonal sunset
- Looking through the clouds
- Cirrus to the south
- Less wind, more cloud
- Windy sunset
- Just my luck
- Falling in love again or magical Monterey
- Monterey montage
- Jeeze, I won't do that again
- On a lighter note...
- The future of UKIRT
- Sunblast
- As far as the eye can see...
- All about emissions trading schemes
- Mauna Kea sunrise surprise
- What a wave can do
- You get what you pay for
- Videos from Tsunami Saturday
-
▼
March
(25)
6 comments:
Cirrus clouds acting like lenses*. ;-) I mean, that's some refraction!
*) I know they don't.
A temperature inversion causing a distortion of the sun's disk...
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/atoptics/mirtemp.htm
Andrew - thanks for the link! I'm aware of the subtleties of inversion layers and how they affect the sun but I don't think I've ever seen such a perfect geometrical shape like this one! I was a bit worried that I'd done some damage to my camera.
Tom
As you know, I love sunsets. Intriguing sun shape indeed, it must be the atmosphere that plays trick on us.;)
xo
Zuzana
Some long time ago (when I was still in Germany) I saw two suns. One was a bit squished, and the other one about as round as it ought to be. Of course, this was all caused by atmospheric layering. They were stacked perfectly on top of one another. I still wish I had had a camera on me then.
Maren - I'm sure I've seen the odd picture or two which show exactly what you describe. I don't think I've seen the effect myself but usually I'm doing the landscape thing rather than concentrating on the setting sun!
Tom
Post a Comment