Waiting for the Green Flash
This is the sun setting over Lake Michigan from a spot on the west coast of the lower peninsula—between Pentwater and the Little Sable Point Lighthouse.
I've heard about, and was anticipating, the green flash, which appears just as the sun ducks behind the horizon.
I did see a green blob appear, but (having done no research on it) believe it simply to be an afterimage of the sun when it finally dips below the horizon. The rods and cones in one's eyes become fatigued with prolonged viewing; when one shifts focus (or removes the sun here), an afterimage appears—which shows in the opposite color, green in this case.
Update: @skylobster tells me that the green flash is real, that they have witnessed it. With just a little digging I did find some photographs of it, such as on this site.
That site also directly addresses, and debunks, my hypothesis...
"Another common misconception is that a green flash is an afterimage, a result of the saturation of the red cones in the human retina or that it was an enduring image that remained after the sun had set. But sightings of the green flash at sunrise made both of these ideas implausible."
One might ask if I ever get tired of being wrong. Five images by Richard Koenig; taken July 6th 2023.
