The Green Ray (1986)

Friedrich Gunter Christlein: in Biarritz

Quotes 

• Dr. Christlein in Biarritz : Look at the sun there. It is not exactly where you see it. In reality, it is a little bit lower down. Because the sun's rays curve in the atmosphere. The closer the sun comes to the horizon, the greater the diffraction in the atmosphere. And when the sun seems to touch the horizon, in reality, it is already behind the horizon. So the solar disk appears slightly raised. Perhaps half a degree. That's the first reason why the green ray exists. The second reason is that there is also a dispersion of colors. Like in a prism. When light passes through a prism, a spectrum is created. The color that is most curved is blue.

  Maria in Biarritz : I was going to say green.

  Dr. Christlein in Biarritz : Green is close to blue, isn't it. There is red, yellow, then green. And blue and violet. Blue and violet are very weak. The colors we can observe very well are yellow and green. When the sun sets, at that moment the disk is slightly raised. But the blue colors and green colors are higher than the red colors. When the disk disappears on the horizon, the last ray we perceive is the green.

  Mrs. Christlein in Biarritz : And a lovely green it is.