Volcanic Sunset Near Mount Etna

October 24, 2017

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Photographer: Marcella Giulia Pace
Summary Authors: Marcella Giulia Pace; Jim Foster

Late last month a minor eruption of Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy) injected ash into the lower and mid levels of the atmosphere. Following a vivid sunset, I was amazed to see that the sky remained very red, as shown above near Ragusa, Italy, even 25 minutes after the Sun had set. The ash particles as well as dust and sulfur dioxide resulting from such an eruption effectively scatter out the shorter wavelength colors (violets, blues and greens) often producing remarkably red-colored sunsets and twilights. Photo taken on September 22, 2017.

Photo Details: Camera Model: Canon PowerShot SX60 HS; Lens: 3.8-247.0 mm; Focal Length: 3.8mm; Aperture: ƒ/3.4; Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60); ISO equiv: 100; Software: Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 9.12.1 (Macintosh).