How High Up Do You Have to Go to See Sunset Again
It is nature's nightly show — the outset hints of pinkish that creep across the sky and develop into a anarchism of deepest oranges and reds if you are lucky.
You are even luckier if you have your camera out and can brag about it on social media.
As office of the ABC's focus on weather we have started the Weather condition Obsessed Facebook grouping, a place where you can hash out weather issues, share pictures and ask questions.
And Michelle Milikins from Mackay wanted to know: Tin you always predict when there will be a good sunset or sunrise?
That is non the kind of challenge we take lightly at Atmospheric condition Obsessed!
Just first, why are sunsets coloured in the first place?
Monash University astronomer Duane Hamacher has several degrees in astrophysics, and his work explores the connections between culture and the skies.
He said the sky'due south colour was the result of a procedure called Rayleigh scattering, an effect from breakthrough mechanics.
When low-cal from the lord's day enters the Earth's temper, the blue wavelengths of light get scattered, but the red wavelengths of light do not.
So during the day, when the light only has to travel a short distance through the temper, we encounter the blue scattered light and the sky looks blue.
"[Merely] when the dominicus is depression on the horizon, like at sunrise or sunset, the light coming through is reddened," Dr Hamacher said.
So all the bluish light gets scattered but the red light comes through, and we become to run across all the longer wavelength reds and oranges painted across the sky.
What makes one sunrise improve than another?
Ann Britton lives on a beefiness-growing property just outside of Boulia, 300 kilometres s of Mt Isa, and she takes beautiful sunset and sunrise photos.
Ms Britton said the key to a spectacular sunset was a touch of cloud.
"Most mornings I expect and see is at that place going to be any deject?" she said.
"I call up every sunrise is pretty special. Fifty-fifty if there's no cloud, information technology's nonetheless very special to exist able to see the sunrise.
"Merely I unremarkably look at it and meet if there's whatsoever cloud about and what the atmospheric atmospheric condition are, whether at that place's a bit of cold there or not and I go from there."
So having clouds and colour are of import when trying to predict a good sunset, simply what else do we need to know?
Can sunsets be used to predict the weather?
You lot may take heard of the saying, "Red heaven at night sailor'southward please. Blood-red in the morn, sailor's alert."
Some say "shepherd" and some say "fisherman" but they all get at the same thing. References to the maxim go all the way back to the Bible, but is it the gospel truth?
Dr Hamacher said the proverb's validity varied depending on where the world you were observing the sunrises and sunsets.
The saying does roughly hold though for places such equally southern Commonwealth of australia, where the weather more often than not moves from west to e.
"If you see the actually beautiful crimson heaven at sunset, that means any bad weather condition is probably moving abroad, but if you see that in the morning, that means it's coming towards you," Dr Hamacher said.
He said that along with good colours and clouds, he would also await for clear atmospheric atmospheric condition if he was to attempt and predict a skillful sunrise or sunset.
"Preferably drier conditions. When there'due south less humidity in the atmosphere, the light that gets refracted up on the cloud, it'south more well-baked. It'due south more clear," Dr Hamacher said.
"You lot also become really beautiful sunsets after a rainfall … it sort of cleans the air."
How then to predict a speccy sunset?
Information technology should exist possible. Clouds, weather patterns, rainfall and humidity tin all exist forecast.
Just it turns out working out exactly which combination creates the ultimate formula for a perfect sunset is a flake tricky.
There are a few sunset prediction websites and apps on the marketplace.
Gregory Dunbar, founder of the sunrise and dusk predictor app SkyCandy, said he took into business relationship:
- Humidity — best when humidity is low but not too low.
- Deject coverage — best when between 30 per cent and seventy per cent. Not good if below 30 per cent, and terrible if above 90 per cent.
- Prior rainfall — 2–half-dozen hours before sunrise or sunset is okay, but not during sunrise or dusk.
- Visibility — the higher the meliorate.
- Current of air speed — best if the current of air speed is low or non-existent.
- Fog — no fog … this should become without proverb.
These are some of the factors. He was non giddy enough to give away the whole story.
SunsetWx, a webpage that does global sunset and sunrise forecasts, has a methodology section — which explains it puts a heavy weighting on atmospheric moisture, without giving away its exact model.
Initial testing suggests these systems are a bit hitting and miss, and neither claim to be 100 per cent accurate.
So at Weather Obsessed, we are starting a projection to see if nosotros can determine or create the best sunset prediction method.
After all, Ann is right: "Information technology's actually nice to share spectacular sunrises and sunset. Some people already appreciate them very much and others don't get the chance to appreciate them. So it'southward always dainty to share something so nice."
It also would exist keen to know when it is going to be worth getting upwards early on to catch a perfect sunrise.
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-11/how-to-predict-good-sunrise-and-sunset/9737446
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