Episode Details

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Have you ever seen the sun turn green? It’s not a camera trick, not an illusion—it’s the incredible Green Flash.

Recently, I had the honor of appearing on Andrew Huberman’s podcast ( @hubermanlab ), where we explored how the human eye perceives light. Now, Andrew is an expert in the human eye and neuro-optical systems, so it was a real treat to get to explore this phenomenon with one of the world's most excellent experts. During our conversation, Andrew asked, Could the green flash merely be a trick of human physiology or psychology? Today, we'll explore why his hypothesis is not entirely correct and the science behind the phenomena. 

I’ve captured this rare emerald glow over 16 times, and in this episode, I’ll teach you how you can see it for yourself. We’ll dive deep into the science behind this phenomenon, bust some myths, and even discuss how climate change is playing a role in its visibility.

Along the way, I’ll share the fascinating physics that explains why the sun’s peak color is green (even though it looks yellow to our eyes) and how the interplay of refraction, dispersion, and Rayleigh scattering creates the Green Flash.

Plus, you’ll get my go-to settings for both smartphones and DSLRs to photograph it like a pro.

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Key Takeaways:  

00:00 Intro

00:29 Understanding the Green Flash

02:27 The Color of the Sun

04:33 Refraction and Dispersion

06:32 Scattering and Its Effects

08:48 Climate Change and the Green Flash

11:06 Capturing the Green Flash

13:28 Best Places to View the Green Flash

14:54 Outro 

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Additional resources: 

👁 Train your eyes to see like a professional astronomer: https://youtu.be/lSbyohV1XSE

👉 My full interview with Andrew Huberman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-ukCGQJk2c 

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