Jakarta, domclub Indonesia
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A red sky phenomenon in Pandeglang on Thursday (18/12) shocked local residents and went viral on social media.So, what causes this phenomenon?
In the video that went viral on social media, the sky was blood red.This phenomenon occurred on the coast of Panimbang Beach, Pandeglang, Banten, after heavy rain in the area.
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The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) explained that the red sky that occurred in Pandeglang was an atmospheric optical phenomenon or Rayleigh scattering.
Head of BBMKG Region II Banten Hartanto said this phenomenon was a natural or normal event.According to him, this phenomenon can occur due to refraction of sunlight when it is in a low position or just before sunset.
According to him, sunlight must travel a greater distance through the Earth’s atmosphere to reach the eye.
“So only colors with long waves such as red and orange are able to penetrate the atmosphere and be caught by our eyes,” said Hartanto, reporting
Sec
.
He added that the appearance of the red color that decorated the Pandeglang sky was influenced by the high concentration of water vapor or aerosol particles (dust/pollutants) floating in the air.
According to him, the rainy Pandeglang area strengthens the effect of the red reflection on the surrounding clouds.
“The red color that appears very dark is usually influenced by the high concentration of water vapor, or the presence of aerosol particles in the air,” he explained.
He also confirmed that this phenomenon was not related to signs of potential natural disasters.
What is Rayleigh scattering?
According to Britannica, Rayleigh scattering is the scattering of electromagnetic radiation by particles that have a diameter of less than about 1/10 of the wavelength of the radiation.
The term is named in honor of Lord Rayleigh, who in 1871 published a paper describing the phenomenon.
This phenomenon occurs when the angle of reflection of sunlight in the atmosphere by the constituent gas molecules is inversely proportional to the fourth degree of wavelength.
Therefore, blue light, which is at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum, will be reflected much more strongly than red light which has a long wavelength.
This causes the sky lit by the Sun to appear blue, because the observer only sees light reflected in a direction other than the Sun.
Rayleigh’s law also predicts variations in the intensity of scattered light with direction, one of the results of which is the existence of perfect symmetry in the forward and backward scatter patterns of a single particle.
(dmi/dmi)
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