ejcrowe

I've tried to see it during almost every sunset I've seen in the Caribbean and no luck for me so far. I've tried it with and without adult libation. On clear nights with no atmosphere between me and the horizon and on evenings where the clouds are painted against the sky.

If you have seen it, where were you and what were the conditions? Does time of year come into play at all?

And just what shade of green are we talking about? A chartreuse? Kelly?

And what causes it? Is it the optical effect of staring at a bright orange-red object and then seeing its color complement the moment the orange-red color disappears? Not that I've researched extensively, but I've never read an adequate explanation of it.

MaryD

Naples, Florida in July. Green like in a rainbow.

MSQ

Great question after 30 years of time in the caribbean I have yet to see it and yet I know dozens of people who claim to.

The two explanations I have heard are (1) that the atmospher refracts the suns light and that as it sets the refraction passes through every colour of the rainbow (literally: red; orange; GREEN; indigo; violet..) and that it is that very brief second of the colour spectrum of green just before the indigo of sunset that you get the "green flash"

(2) the second explanation is that if one looks at a bright light like the sun and then it goes out the retina in ones eyes generates colour and that the green flash is in fact generated by your eyes no longer seeing bright light. And maybe that is why some people cannot or never see it as their phyisiology is just different.

Love to hear other theories on this.

Callaloo

I've seen it many times, but always with a clear, cloudless horizon. Mayreau and Union Island in the Grenadines, Cat Island in the Bahamas, just about every night in Grand Turk. It was a quick spark of neon green. Most times I was not influenced by the sundowners I was enjoying, and -- especially in Grant Turk -- I was not alone, making the possibility of a mere hallucination less likely. I can't single out a particular season either, since some of the trips were in the dead of winter, others in the spring, and others in mid-autumn.

Wish I knew what caused it -- then I'd know for sure when I'd find it. Something about refraction of the spectrum of sunlight, though I've often thought it had something to do with green being the complement of red.

I suppose you'll have to continue your research and keep traveling down island!

Michaelpl

It's actually pretty funny...........in all my travels, the ONLY place I've ever seen the elusive "green flash" is Naples, Florida as well. (and I've seen it more than one time there too)

Sunnyboy

Odd thing about the Green Flash - people will tell you they saw it the day before you arrived on island or the day after you've flown home. Seriously, I've seen it many times on my island. Most of the time it's not a "flash" but rather a greenish halo along the top of the sun just as it sets. It usually lasts only a split second and conditions have to be just perfect. The problem in viewing it is you can't stare at the sun for any great length of time prior to setting so it's easy to miss.

Here's a great link to a web-site that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the green flash:
http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/

virginia

well i don't think i've ever seen it either. however i just linked to:
http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/atoptics/gf1.htm
from sunnyboy's site and now have looked at enough pics so know what i'm looking for and when to look. COOL!!!

JoeTex

Saw one from a private dinner cruise on 30th wedding anniversary off Bonaire in 04. I told my wife that I arranged but after 30 years she believes very little of what I have to say. Very lovely and what a perfect time to see one

cdt

I was just in Negril Jan. 13-21 and saw the Flash for the first time ever, on my first night there (8th trip to the Caribbean, plus several to Florida).

We were watching the sunset from the beach and the skies were clear. Just as the last of the sun sank from view, there was a horizontal bluish-green (to my aging eyes) bar along the top of the sun.

We spent the next 7 nights hoping for a repeat but didn't get one.

annikany

My husband and I both saw it while watching the sun set over Waikiki Beach. It was funny, we both looked at each other like -Did you just see what I just saw. A nice surprise. And it was our last night on the island. We were flying home at midnight that evening. It was just one last sunset.
Ahhh

tivertonhouse

Have seen in Jamaica from a vantagepoint about 1500 ft up on mt looking over the sugarcanes in valley
below and over to Negril Mts. 'Green sprites', also called 'searchlights' in country Jamaica are another phenomemnon
worth catching -- multiple greenish
flashes proceeding a major stormfront
coming thru the valley.

Statia

I've been fortunate enough to see many from my patio in the course of 13 years of daily Caribbean sunsets. Of course, some are better than others...some are brighter, a little longer, more intense, etc.

I seem to see more of them in the winter than other seasons, but I still see them year round. The horizon usually has to be clear of any clouds for you to really get a good one. However, you can be surprised once in awhile and still see a hint of green flash even on a slightly cloudy evening.

For those of you who haven't seen one, I have a suggestion. Grab a Heineken bottle and look thru it right as the sun goes down over the horizon and you will definitely see a green flash. We have a restaurant here on our island that guarantees a green flash every sunset, and of course, they have binoculars on the railings made from Heineken bottles.

MSQ, your first explanation is the correct one. When we can see that it might be a green flash evening, we make sure NOT to look at the sun as it's setting and only glance up at it now and then, finally focusing on it only is it dips over the horizon. Looking at it for too long beforehand will enable you to NOT see the flash because of having looked at the bright sun for too long.

Has anyone ever seen the elusive "moonbow" in the islands? My husband saw one years ago and I didn't believe him until I finally saw the huge white halo across the sky one morning before dawn myself. It was like a perfect, white rainbow over the ocean. It was the most unique and awesome thing I've ever seen in my life.

ejcrowe

Statia, I've never heard of a moonbow before. Where in the sky did you see it, vis a vis the moon? Is it like a rainbow in that source of light (sun/moon) is in the opposite part of the sky?

Tiv, I've never heard of the green sprites, either. They sound fascinating.

Thanks for sharing all of your stories, folks. I'll just keep on lookin'.

RobertoB

True story.......I knew about the elusive Green Flash but my wife had never heard of it. While dining at Compass Point on the way to Cat Island, I explained why everyone was watching the sunset at the deck railing. My back was to the sunset because I had given up looking for it.

Yes, she saw it and I didn't. Like you ejcrowe, I'll just keep looking.

mersingary

I first saw the flash on a beach at Sandals Halcyon on St. Lucia. Unfortunealely, my wife wasn't looking at the time. A few years later, we were on a sunset cruise on a PT boat out of Key West and everyone on the boat, including the captain (who had never seen it before)witnessed this phenomenom.

Statia

ejcrowe, I saw the moonbow directly over the ocean as I came up the stairs to my patio one morning about 5 a.m. It was like a huge, perfect, white arc in the sky over the ocean and it was really bright. It was just stunning.

It was a few years after my husband saw one while working at night that I finally saw one, too. I also have a friend who lives in Hawaii and has seen one there.

Here's a link to further info:

http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/scidisc...ws/unusual.asp

SAnParis

Statia - Can we just have a GTG at your place ? I'll will be looking for this elusive phenomena next month...although we may have seen a bit of one in Key West at one time...I really believe it was just tequila related.

joan

Being fortunate to live in a place called Sunset Beach (Florida), I have seen the green flash many times. The first time (after having already lived here 15 years and never having seen it before), I was alone and walked back to a group of people sitting and watching the sunset. They all confirmed what I had seen. After that, it seems I see them more often, only on cloudless evenings. Just saw one this week (a tiny one but a beautiful neon shade of green). Lucky me!

Now I am gonna have to start looking for moonbows, Statia! Thanks for the idea.

Kimberly

We too saw the flash in Negril and in St.Lucia while on a Dinner Cruise.

MSQ

I thought that the refraction explanation (if they did exist) was the right one. Now I have seen pictures and know what to look for...sort of.

What has also been explained to me is that when we see the sun set....it in fact has already set. The reason for this I am told is that the atmospher greats about a one degree refraction (bending) of the sun's light. And the sun takes up about one degree of the sky at sun set...so when we see it set, it in fact is already below the horizon and we are seeing the refracted image. So the green plash is like playing with any prisim the end of that light. It makes sence...now I just have to see one.

I guess many more sundowners at Basil's are called for as part of my research. Wonder if I can get a grant for that.