Fiery Sunset Over Cadiz, Spain

April 16, 2012

Cadizfuego en el cielo (2)

Photographer
: Maritxu Poyal  
Summary Author: Maritxu Poyal; Astrogades; Jim Foster

I'm fortunate to get to see some beautiful sunsets from my home in Cadiz, Spain and the one shown above was absolutely spectacular. On rare occasion, it seems the clouds conspire to set the sky on fire. The longer path length of sunlight when the Sun is near or below the horizon acts to scatter out the shorter wavelength colors (blues and violets). In the absence of clouds or aerosols, the sunset (or sunrise) isn't so remarkable. But if a mid-level cloud deck is positioned just right to capture the Sun's final throes, as it was on this winter's day, the sky is ignited in shades of scarlet and burnt sienna. Photo taken on January 13, 2012. [Revised November 2017]

Photo Details: Camera Maker: NIKON; Camera Model: COOLPIX S3000; Focal Length: 4.9mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm); Aperture: ƒ/3.2; Exposure Time: 0.020 s (1/50); ISO equiv: 80; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS Windows.