Back in the May 2009 Astronomy magazine, Stephen James O’Meara wrote about the atmospheric effects of Kasatochi, a small island volcano in southwestern Alaska that erupted August 7, 2008 (subscribers can still read the article in our online archive). The subject captures two of O’Meara’s great passions — astronomy and volcanoes — so it came by no surprise that I received an e-mail from him June 20 pointing out the great sunsets that would come with Russia’s Sarychev Peak Volcano eruption that began June 12.
Today, people all across the United States are starting to notice these brilliant lavender sunsets. Sarychev’s emissions have created fine aerosols of ash and sulfuric acid in the stratosphere that have spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The way these aerosols catch the light causes brilliantly colorful sunsets and crepuscular rays, the rosy fingers of light that radiate up from the sunset point on the horizon.
One of the people who have captured these warm colors is Doug Zubenel, a sky photographer from Johnson County, Kansas, who provided the images for O’Meara’s volcanic sunset column back in May. Zubenel says the photo above, which he took July 8 from Overland Park, Kansas, has been the best Sarychev sunset he’s seen yet.
Have you witnessed these lavender sunsets in your area? You can share your stories below. Or, better yet, share your pictures of Sarychev’s atmospheric effects in our Online Reader Gallery. Astronomy.com member Tim Kerr has already posted three images from Hubert, North Carolina, in the Sun and Moon gallery:
Ripples in the sky
Colorful sunset
Volcanic sunset