Purple Sun

I got a couple of interesting sunset shots on Thursday of this week. You can barely see the Sun in these as it is right at the horizon.

What I didn’t know was the science behind the purple Sun. But thanks to one of my Google+ buddies, I learned this:

The explanation for this phenomenon is that the CCD sensors used in digital cameras have their peak sensitivity in the infra-red – typically at a wavelength of about 1000 nm, which is well beyond visible spectrum of 400 – 700 nm. You can test the infra-red performance of your own digital camera by pointing a TV remote control at the lens of the camera from a distance of about 15 cm (6 inches). Most remote controls transmit infra-red at wavelengths of 850 – 1000 nm. Your camera viewfinder will probably show a purple light when you press a button on the remote control. The purple colour suggests that the red and blue sensors in the camera are sensitive to infra-red – but not the green sensor. Hence, the purple sun …..

Read more here! – http://atmospherical.blogspot.com/2007/08/purple-sun.html