Australians have been startled to learn the tragic reason for the stunning sunsets that have occurred around the nation in recent months.
According to scientists, the cataclysmic Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano eruption in January is what causes the stunning sunsets and sunrises.
At least six people were killed and 19 were injured in Tonga as a result of the worst explosion in more than three decades, which also caused an estimated $130 million in damages.
Due to ash, sulfates, and water vapor in the stratosphere, Australia’s more colorful sunrises and sunsets may remain for another year as Tonga continues to recover from the natural disaster.
After the volcano erupted on January 15, NASA study revealed that it broke through the troposphere and stratosphere, the first two layers of the atmosphere, and into the mesosphere, the third layer.
Its effects can still be felt in Australia, where it reached a height of 58km at its height.
According to Robyn Schofield, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Melbourne, the eruption produced nearly three times as many aerosols as usual along with ash, sulphates, and water vapor.
All of those factors, according to Ms. Schofield, are virtually certainly involved in what Australians see in the sky very early in the morning and late at night.
According to her, the majority of atmospheric particles serve as a surface for light to scatter, which results in our stunning sunsets and sunrises.
So, about 20 to 25 minutes after sunset, the majority of the light is scattered off the stratosphere and down into our eyes. As a result, the troposphere is completely in shadow.
Because the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption was the greatest since Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, Ms. Schofield claimed that Australians were still able to observe the impacts in the night and early sky.
The sunrises and sunsets where photographer Ilona Diessner lives in Western Australia have recently shown intense orange hues.
Albany, WA’s south coast, had a lot more pink and purple hues in the sky last year.
The sunsets, which she didn’t see much of last year, are as colorful as the sunrises, she remarked.
According to Ms. Schofield, another aspect in creating the dramatic colors Australians are looking for in the sky is the time it takes for the air to circulate as it moves south toward Antarctica.
An injection of material must flow slowly in the direction of the poles before emerging, which takes around 12 days.
And it will take three to five years for the stratosphere to be cleared out by the overturning circulation, she added.