Astronomer shares thoughts on red sky phenomenon

The founder and chairman of the East Sussex Astronomical Society has shared his thoughts on today's unusual weather conditions.
Photo by Andy LawesPhoto by Andy Lawes
Photo by Andy Lawes

Andy Lawes, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, shared his thoughts after he was contacted by friends for an explanation of the strange phenomenon.

He said: "Many local people reported the phenomenon on Facebook and it has caused quite a stir with people asking me if it is the end of the word –‘The apocalypse is nigh’. The Phenomenon it appears was caused by Hurricane Ophelia, apparently the red sun is caused by winds pulling up Saharan dust, this dust is then reflected and refracted in longer wavelengths, giving a red appearance to the sky.

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"Another contributor to this is the forest fires In Portugal throwing up more dust into the atmosphere.

"So we live another day and no its not the end of the world!"

For more information about the East Sussex Astronomical Society visit www.esas.org.uk

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