What is that glowing orb in the sky?

September 28, 2006

So I woke up this morning, but that’s not the point of this story. I woke up this morning, opened the curtains (still not the point), and in the eastern sky there was the most amazing orange colour I’ve ever seen. It was all orange and pink, and words don’t do it justice really. Yes, that was the point.

Turns out it was the sun. Who knew? I never see the thing, so I had no idea what it was.

It did remind me of an old saying regarding the weather, from back when I was in the navy:

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.
Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.

I was never in the navy. And this isn’t just a pretty poem, it’s like rhyming science!

See, there is a lot of water vapour and dust in the sky. I know, it’s gross, get over it. By bouncing off and passing through these disgusting particles, sunlight gets split into the various wavelengths of the colour spectrum. Kind of like at work when you are all like “I’m doing the jobs of 15 people!” Try being the sun for a day, whiner. Anyway, at sunrise and sunset, when the sun is in it’s lowest position in the sky, the light gets all filtered through the densest amount of these particles. They aren’t stupid, just thick. So when we see a red sky, it means there is so much stuff up there, only the longest of the wavelengths (red) are getting through the particles. The shorter ones, like blue, are tossed about between the particles and essentially lost before getting to earth. It’s not like they didn’t try, they’re just short.

So then, all those particles and red wavelengths at night indicate good times coming from the west. Perfect for that all night rave you were planning in the corn field next door. But all that extra water content in the morning sky means that the west isn’t feeling so good, and a storm could be heading east, so you might like to take the festivities inside. It’s okay, your parents will never find out. Sure.

So that’s your weather lesson for the day, have fun out there.

Posted lovingly by Ryan 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks Permalink