Rare Mock-mirage Cloud-top Green Flash

Description

SHOOT EVERYTHING, REVIEW AT LEISURE! 🌅📸 That's always been my motto as a photographer, and this capture stands as validation of why it can pay dividends on occasion. In October 2023, Just north of the Mkwesaqtuk / Cap-Rouge Campground entrance, I pulled into the expansive Cap Rouge Look-off to execute a safe turnaround. Carved directly into the cliff face at an elevation of 110 metres (360 feet) overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the spot offered a dramatic vantage point. In the heat of the moment, exactly 6 minutes before astronomical sunset, I had no idea of the rare scientific data set my Canon EOS R was recording. It wasn’t until I sat down to review my files at leisure last evening, that the mystery unraveled. Hidden inside my native .CR3 RAW files was an unprecedented, ultra-dense chronological archive: 50 consecutive frames documenting a rare mock-mirage cloud-top green flash, all captured entirely within a single calendar minute. Research suggests that the majority of these events last less than three seconds. However, because the Cap Rouge Look-off sits elevated at 110 metres on the cliff edge, my lens was positioned to look down and through a marine temperature inversion layer. This cold surface air trapped beneath warmer daytime air acted as an atmospheric duct. As the sun sank, this thermal "lens" physically propped up, compressed, and lofted an optical ghost image of the sun’s upper rim right along the false horizon of a dense cloud deck for an extended period of time. A noteworthy reminder of why we should never stop combing through our raw archives at leisure! • Location: Cap Rouge Look-off, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, NS • Coordinates: 46.7214° N, 60.9421° W • Elevation: ~110m (360 feet) • Gear: Canon EOS R (30MP Native RAW) • © DerekGrantDigital.com

Taken By

Derek Grant

Taken On

September 12, 2026

Tagged

green flash mock mirage atmospheric refraction temperature inversion optical phenomenon cabot trail cape breton island cheticamp nova scotia sunset cloud top false horizon meteorological anomaly physics of light time lapse ray

Assignments

Weather, Seasons and Sky