Purple Sky

Purple Sky

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    • #367126
      Michael Lerch avatarMichael Lerch
      Participant

      Two volcanoes erupted last spring was it,Raikoke in the Kuril Islands(Russia) andUlawun in New Guinea . They pushed tons of tons of ash into the atmosphere which has now spread around the world turning our sunsets the color purple.

      I live in Phoenix Arizona USA around 33 degrees north latitude and I have been seeing some really purple sunsets. So today , even with little cloud cover at sunset, I took some pics of the sky after  the sun was below the horizon. It was purple. Below is a shot taken from backyard.

      Is it possible to get pictures of purple sunsets from all over the world? If you have a smart phone camera, a pocket camera, or a sophisticated camera grab a photo of the sky between the sun going below the horizon and  final darkness and post the photo here with location. It might be interesting  to see similarities as well as variations. Its true all cameras will not record the same . Yet I think purple is purple and the sky will show purple if its there.  It might be interesting to see  changes in intensity with latitude. Maybe CAS can contribute to a scientific record…or not.  Anyway it could be fun as well as interesting to see what  purple sky looks like all around the world..Let me start with this shot..The only processing I did to this photo was cropping a bit of the excess black off the bottom. Lets see Your Shot!

      sept1019PurpleB

    • #367440
      Patricia L Keelin avatarPatricia L Keelin
      Participant

      Very interesting, Michael! I’ll keep my eyes on the skies and see if I spot any purple sunsets. And now I wonder, do you think there might also be a color difference in sunrises as well?

    • #367596
      Howard Brown avatarHoward Brown
      Participant

      I checked my Hampshire UK sky at twilight tonight in vain, Michael – clear with a pleasant pinkish horizon. I have not heard about this and I missed Paul Simons’ column:

      https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/volcanic-eruptions-cause-an-amazing-twilight-spectacle-dzqbzqlwp

      Wrt Keelin’s question a Google search for ‘UK purple sky’ produced:

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46467988

      N.B.  Michael’s purple is unquestionable, but some other pictures may not be

      P.S.  (I had to click Windows F5 to get this Edit function). Searching the ICA in the first permanent thread above for ‘purple’ gave:

      https://cloudatlas.wmo.int/purple-light.html

      • This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by Howard Brown avatarhygge.
    • #367627
      Michael Lerch avatarMichael Lerch
      Participant

      Keelin..Yes, according to what I’ve read and what hygge linked to ,sunrises should also be affected. Im use to the yellow ro orange to red slide in to dark against a ever darkening blue. So just a quick look  during late sundown provides a startling change,purple! Not every dusk is the same intensity. I can’t speak for sunrises since I have been forcing myself to sleep in . I may have to give it a look at least once tho.

      That photo I posted is very close to what my memory says I saw. As the one link hygge provided, there is a yellow  that is slitely dulled or darkened by the purple from the horizon then the purple. I suspect if people had a clear ” before” picture of a  sunset sky and took  one today they would see a difference even if they didn’t ” see” any purple.

    • #369024
      Howard Brown avatarHoward Brown
      Participant

      Violet

      In The Times, UK, last week a nature diary column on Shetland said violet sky.

    • #370310
      Michael Lerch avatarMichael Lerch
      Participant

      Heres one for alliteration …Purple Crepuscular..

      PurpleCrepuscular

    • #370369
      Hans Stocker avatarHans Stocker
      Participant

      Nice purples Michael. I found a good explanation about the color purple: Purple sky by volcano dust.

      I don’t have any volcanoes nearby so no purples over here. I had a lot of sunsets with clear blue skies and the colors were spectacular but no purples. I hope to upload one soon but my problem with recognizing my camera by the laptop is back again. I have to solve that issue first. Grrrr.

    • #371574
      Hans Stocker avatarHans Stocker
      Participant

      Michael, yesterday I saw a new APOD on atoptics with examples in Europe (Germany) of volcanic skies:

      Twilight Diaries

      It contains also a great explanation and I learned that also in Europe the pheneomenon of purple skies was visible. I took some pictures of the twilight in France on three different days. A good reason to check them.

      September 13th 2019 (105 mm)

      2019-09 Charigny (100)-2

      September 18th 2019 (60 mm)

      2019-09 Charigny (141)-2

      September 20th 2019 (41 mm)

      2019-09 Charigny (148)-2

      All three unprocessed pictures. The second and third picture seem to show some purples from volcanic aerosols. Any opinion?

    • #371657
      Patricia L Keelin avatarPatricia L Keelin
      Participant

      Thanks to all for this fascinating topic, beautiful photos and great links. Hans, in your middle image above, you’ve really captured the loveliest transition from peachy orange to deep purple. WOW!

    • #372164
      Michael Lerch avatarMichael Lerch
      Participant

      Hans,Yes..if there is purple in the sunset the camera will pick it up unless you are telling it not to ( pre programming). There is a timing element as well ..like 3 to 6 minutes after the sun goes beneath the horizon etc..The exposure of the camera can deepen the purple somewhat but the natural diminishing of light eventually equals the purple of the shot.And now,,a busy volcano in Mexico,Popocatepeti 50 klicks from Mexico City, has begun erupting just yesterday. Even more aerosols!

      I’ve noticed the purple varies from day to day. Rain seems to clear the sky for a day .  But the purple seems to be present even if as just a thin  halo  between the yellow and the dark blue. The ” Veil of Venus” is now more violet than pinkish. Thats what first caught my attention, was how much altered the Veil appeared.

    • #372455
      Hans Stocker avatarHans Stocker
      Participant

      Yes Michael the timing matters. The light and colors change quickly while watching and every day is different. Nice spectacle!

    • #376705
      Michael Lerch avatarMichael Lerch
      Participant

      There was a brush fire  in the desert so I caught a shot of..Purple Pyro at sunset

      oct2119b6894PurPyr

    • #377242
      Michael Lerch avatarMichael Lerch
      Participant

      Mauve Moon

      sept1019b6539PurSet

    • #377277
      Hans Stocker avatarHans Stocker
      Participant

      The colors are great Michael. With the forelast picture you mentioned a brush fire in the desert. The last few days I saw dramatic images of the fires in California on the news over here. Is this something of which you can observe the consequences in Arizona? I hope for Keelin she and her surroundings are not suffering from the chaos and danger these enormous fires cause.

    • #377431
      Michael Lerch avatarMichael Lerch
      Participant

      Hans..Yes, This last weekend there was a day that began with  faint pyro stratus in the a.m. The pyro thickened into the afternoon, then the winds shifted and by dusk ,  no clouds, clear sky except a bit of purple after sundown. I’ve seen worse pollution from California fires but I hope to never see any again.

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