The story goes that if you look very carefully when the sun is setting over the sea, sometimes there is a flash of green light just as the sun disappears. For most, the green flash is half real, half legend.

It's real. I've seen it, and others have photographed it and explained it. When I'm asked what it looks like, I describe it as a small flash of green neon just as the top of the sun slips below the horizon. If you blink at the wrong time you might miss it. It is small, but quite beautiful. Part of the beauty is in its unexpected occurrence. The evening I saw it, it was the last thing on my mind.

What causes the green flash? In simple terms, it is caused by the light rays from the sun being bent as they pass through layers of air of differing temperatures. It is a mirage.

The green flash is not the only sunset mirage. If you pay attention to the shape of the sun as it is almost “touching” the water, you will see the sun take on a variety of shapes. Sometimes you will see what looks like a mirror image of the sun, underneath the “real” sun.

Note: It is not safe to look directly at the sun until it is very close to the horizon. Did I need to say that?

Here is a photo of a green flash at sunset taken in Sarasota, Florida.

Here is some interesting information and some great photos of sunset mirages and green flashes.

Read the short story of how I saw the green flash at Longboat Pass on Anna Maria Island.