See lavender sunset compliments of Russian volcano

By William Atkins
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 18:08

Science - Space

The Russian volcano Sarychev Peak erupted on June 12, 2009, and now you can see a plume of ash and sulfur dioxide mixing with the normal sunset to produce a lavender, or purplish, sunset throughout the northern United States and Europe.


According to SpaceWeather.com, “A plume of ash and sulfur dioxide from the Sarychev Peak eruption is circulating through the stratosphere, and when parts of the plume pass over an area at sunset, the sky fills with delicate white ripples, sometimes-colorful streamers, and a telltale hue of purple.”

ITWire first reported the eruption in the June 26, 2009 article “Space Station crew snaps amazing pixs of volcanic eruption,” which stated that, on June 12, 2009, the crew of the International Space Station photographed the first few moments of the Sarychev Peak volcano eruption.

SpaceWeather.com goes on to say, “People across the USA (and now parts of Europe) are reporting unusual sunsets. When the sun goes down, delicate ripples of white appear over the western horizon. Then, as the twilight deepens, the sky turns a telltale shade of ‘volcanic lavender’."

The “white ripples” are composed of volcanic aerosols—a mixture of sulfur compounds and ash.

The volcanic aerosols in the stratosphere scatter blue light, while the usual particles found in the atmosphere during a sunset scatter red light.

Thus, combine blue light and red light, and we get a purple hue.

So a “lavender sunset” is produced when the two are mixed together. And, a purplish sunset is a normal result of volcanic aerosol particles in the atmosphere, such as what we get after a volcanic explosion.

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