A Tantalizing Hint of the Green Flash

For years I have looked for the "green flash" without success, but a view of one came at an unexpected time and location.

The setting was on a mountain road near Jasper, Georgia in late October, 2001. A clear afternoon brought a beautiful sunset, with a good view of the sun going down behind a wooded mountain. It was inspiring enough to train my video camera on the sun during the last few seconds before it dropped below the mountain. 场景设定在2001年10月底的佐治亚州杰斯珀山间公路附近。晴朗的下午带来了一片美丽的日落景象，夕阳映照在山间林木之后。这景色足够令人振奋，使我将摄像机对准太阳，捕捉它在最后几秒钟内沉入山巅前的影像。

Watching through the viewfinder of the video camera, I was surprised to see the distinct green flash just before the sun disappeared. On the digital video camera, only two frames showed evidence of the green light, so only 1/15 of a second showed the phenomenon. To be sure, the image above is not very convincing, but if you look closely, you will see a hint of green at the top of the sun image. It was much more dramatic through the viewfinder. I never expected to be able to see it over a wooded mountain - I had heard reports only of sea views and views over bare rock mountains.