A lucky photographer managed to capture a shimmering green light emitting from Venus in the night sky – something that has only been seen a handful of times.
Peter Rosen managed to capture the clip of the flash from deep in outer space as he was looking at the skies in Stockholm during the early hours of January 8. The rarely-seen moment is similar to other occurrences that typically can be seen around the sun at either sunrise or sunset.
The phenomenon lasted only for a brief second, but it was worth it, says Rosen. The bright colorful flash was able to be captured on film because it’s one of our close neighbors in space.
“On Monday morning I woke up early to get a beautiful view of Venus and the Moon rising over Stockholm’s skyline,” Rosén told SpaceWeather.
“Because of the extreme cold that still persists over southern Sweden, I also got an unexpected bonus in the form of a rare green flash on Venus.”
“It was a magnificent sight,” he added.
This type of flashing light is produced through different wavelengths of color, which all give off rays of white, as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere. If we take the example of the sunset, when light shines through our atmosphere, these wavelengths are refracted by gas molecules, giving off a green hue. It’s common near the horizon when the sun is either rising or setting because light has to travel further to the naked eye. Due to the positioning, green mid-length wavelengths are more visible, because shorter ones – usually blue or purple – are scattered and longer wavelengths – made up of warmer shades such as yellow or red – are absorbed by the atmosphere. This leaves the greens behind and why it’s only a brief flash.
The common green flash may spark memories in Pirates of the Caribbean fans, in the movie At World’s End. Towards the beginning of the movie, the crew are making their way to Davy Jones’ locker to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow and see the green flash of light as the sun hits the horizon. However, this was obviously exaggerated for Hollywood. In real life, there is no alternative world beneath the sea.
However, what we do have, is Rosen’s incredible image and video.
Green flashes around the sun are more common, but it’s not as regular with other planets.
