![]() Your best chance of seeing one would be somewhere with a clear, flat horizon and a haze-free sky, like an ocean or a desert. This natural phenomenon is known as a “green flash,” and though it can happen during sunrise as well, it’s most common during sunset.Īccording to Cornell University, a green flash is usually a band or vertical ray of green light just above the setting or rising sun, though in rare cases it can also be violet or blue. But if you’ve ever ignored that advice and looked anyway, and thought you saw the sun suddenly turn green for a few seconds, your eyes may not have been playing tricks on you. We know we’re not supposed to stare at the sun, even during a beautiful sunset. The lightning pictured here is from a 1993 eruption of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia. Volcanic lightning occurred in 2015 during two separate eruptions in Chile, and during Eyjafjallajökull’s 2010 eruption in Iceland. The first potential cause is static electricity from particles rubbing together in dense ash clouds near the ground the second happens high up near the stratosphere, where ice crystals unleash powerful jolts. The cause of volcanic lightning has been a mystery to scientists, but new research has provided us with two clues as to why this natural phenomenon occurs. Volcanic LightningĪn erupting volcano is a striking sight in itself, but the scene gets far more dramatic with the addition of volcanic lightning. These clouds most commonly appear in the Arctic, Scotland, Scandinavia, Alaska, Canada, the northern Russian Federation and, as pictured here, in Iceland. Then, when the sun sinks below the horizon, “the colors are replaced by a general coloration that changes from orange to pink and contrasts vividly with the darkening sky,” the International Cloud Atlas notes. These hues are most vibrant when the sun is several degrees below the horizon. But after sunset, magic happens as the colors come out. Nacreous clouds, on the other hand - also known as mother-of-pearl clouds - can take on brilliant, iridescent hues and look like watercolor paintings in the sky.īy day, nacreous clouds often resemble pale cirrus clouds. Mother-of-Pearl CloudsĬlouds can take on virtually any color, but are usually white or shades of gray, depending on the weather. ![]() As National Geographic explains, they are actually an optical illusion, formed when light from street lamps hit millions of flat ice crystals as they get closer to the ground. Though they look like something from an alien invasion, light pillars actually have a very scientific explanation. They are extremely rare and typically found close to the Arctic, though when temperatures are cold enough, they can be seen as far south as Ohio. These tall, narrow beams of light appear to extend from the ground to the sky and can come in several different colors. Happily, you don’t have to understand it to know that it’s extremely cool. “When optimally aligned, the ice crystals act as a prism, and the resulting refraction is reminiscent of a rainbow,” the University of California Santa Barbara’s Geology department reports. Technically, they’re not rainbows at all, but what happens when (bear with us here) there is an ice halo formed by flat ice crystals in high-level cirrus clouds, occurring only when the elevation of the light source is more than 58 degrees. Fire Rainbowsįirst things first: Fire rainbows are not as scary as they sound and do not actually involve fire. Your best chances of seeing a moonbow are in places where there are steady streams of water, like Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada and New York Yosemite National Park in California and Victoria Falls, pictured here, in Zambia. But on rare occasions, it’s possible to see a moonbow in all its multi-hued glory. ![]() #COOL NATURAL PHENOMENA FULL#Moonbows aren’t as vibrant as daytime rainbows, due to the sun being 400,000 times brighter than a full moon, and we often discern them as white, the combination of all of light’s visible colors. Though rare, moonbows are entirely possible and work the same way as rainbows: Light shining through water droplets form a prism, bending the light to split it into different colors. If you thought you could only see a rainbow during the daytime, think again. But what about moonbows? Or fire rainbows? Did you know there are stones that move without anyone's assistance? Or that crop circles have been discovered at the bottom of the sea?Īround the world, extraordinary natural phenomena prove just how dynamic and spectacular our planet is.įrom flammable ice bubbles to volcanic lightning, here are 20 of the most extraordinary natural phenomena on Earth that you’ll have to see to believe. Spectacular Natural Phenomena Around the World From moonbows to volcanic lightning, prepare to be amazed. ![]()
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