The Mysterious Double sunset

The mysterious Double sunset.

This blip was inspired by Graham Colling who suggested we try and photograph this rare event.

His journal, Quod oculus meus videt is excellent and if you haven't visited it you should.

Graham did the research, e-mailed it to me, but due to work commitments he couldn't make it here to accompany me photograph it himself.

To see the double sunset, you have to stand within a few feet of an exact spot at Glutton Bridge. Armed with the research and accurate measurement known as 'paces' I set off for the location. On arrival, I realised I knew it well!

The event was quite amazing and obviously short lived. The sun did indeed set twice!! You may think the hill is just hiding the sun, which in a manner of speaking it is. But due to the axial inclination of the earth being about 23 degrees at this moment in time; Instead of dropping below the horizon and disappearing, the sun appears to set, reappear, slide sideways and set again. Work that one out.

Taking the photographs was tricky as I had no solar filters and the light was intense. I took them at 30 second intervals. Multiple exposures didn't work because of the brightness,
(I practised before sunset).

When I arrived home, I then attempted to import the images into Photoshop as layers, and merge them into one image. Once again, I was foiled by the brightness of the sun's disc. I have underexposed everything except the sun to reduce flare and show the sun.

I therefore selected four images that showed the event as best I could. Unfortunately, my processing skills are limited and as the sun set the brightness changed and I'm not sure how to handle this. I cloned out the telegraph line so as not to distract from the blip.

The event was first photographed in 1999 by photographer Chris Doherty from this location.

Many thanks to Graham.


To blip this event, which happens on only 3 about days, a year, I had to do some 'time travel' due to the weather forecast. If not, Graham's work would have been wasted. My apologies for this, but it was the only way it could be posted. It has rained all day today and the same is forecast tomorrow.


Wikipedia Information:

A double sunset is a rare astro-geographical phenomenon, in which the sun sets twice on the same evening from a specific place.

The occurrence was first recorded in writing in 1686 by Dr Robert Plot in his book, The Natural History Of Stafford-shire, although it has been argued that the first people to witness the spectacle may well have been Danish settlers from the Great Army, which invaded England in the ninth century.

Further double sunsets were discovered by the writer, Jeff Kent, in 1997 from three places in West Derbyshire, observed against the limestone reef knolls, Chrome Hill, Parkhouse Hill and Thorpe Cloud.

The Chrome Hill phenomenon is observed from Glutton Bridge for a short period around the summer solstice. The sun sets just to the southwest of the summit of the hill, begins to re-emerge almost immediately afterwards from its steep northeastern slope before fully reappearing and later sets for a second and final time at the foot of the hill.