SᕼᗩᗪES Oᖴ TᗯIᒪIGᕼT

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚛

𝔼𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝔾𝕝𝕠𝕨

The beginning of Twilight. Field covered in greenery with a bare tree under a cloudy sky during the pink sunset. ( Image Credit: Freepik )

As day surrenders to night’s embrace,
A celestial opera takes its stage,
A transitional hour of wonder starts,
When the sun descends, the sky imparts,
A canvas painted with celestial art.

The moon rises from the eastern hemisphere.
Stars begin to twinkle, bright and clear.
A twilight hour, both strange and sweet,
Of all the wonders yet to be seen.
Lavender, rose, and indigo brush the sky,
A magic moment where dreams reside.

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𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴? 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺.

Vertical shot of a field under the breathtaking purple sky.
( Image Credit: Freepik )

You see, even though the sun is below the horizon, specifically your horizon, you might think it’s the end of the day or nightfall. However, that’s not quite the case. Even though the sun is out of sight, the sky remains illuminated. The horizon, the apparent line where the sky meets the land or sea, is unique to your perspective. It shifts as you move around Earth. As the sun dips below the horizon, its light still interacts with Earth’s atmosphere above you. The atmosphere radiates with the leftover sunlight, and that’s the essence of twilight. The atmosphere is like a big, glowing ball.
Fascinating, isn’t it?

But what if we didn’t have an atmosphere? — If we had no atmosphere, the instant the sun sank below the horizon, the sky would plunge into darkness immediately, and there wouldn’t be a word like “twilight.” The moon doesn’t have twilight because it has no atmosphere, so the moon experiences a sudden shift from daylight to darkness as the sun disappears.

The deeper the sun sinks below the horizon, the higher the sunlight penetrates the atmosphere. This means the lower portion of the atmosphere gradually becomes darker. When the sun is well below your horizon, no sunlight reaches any part of the atmosphere above you, and that’s how true night begins.

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯’𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯?

Evening twilight: civil, nautical, and astronomical stages at dusk. The solar disk is shown to scale. Image via TWCarlson/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

ℂ𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕝 𝕥𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 unfolds when the sun falls 6 degrees below the horizon. The sky isn’t totally dark yet, but it’s starting to get a little bit dim. You can still see some of the brighter stars and planets, and you can definitely make out the horizon.

Civil Twilight ( Image Credit: Freepik )

ℕ𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 begins its graceful dance when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. It’s darker than civil twilight, but sailors can still use the stars to navigate. You might catch glimpses of the outlines of buildings or trees, but it’s getting pretty dark, so you’d probably need a flashlight to do anything outside.

░The░blue░hour,░
that░magical░slice░of░time,
░arrives░during░nautical░twilight,░
when░the░sky░deepens,
░and░the░world░holds░its░breath░
between░day░and░night.

Nautical Twilight or Blue hour ( Image Credit: Freepik )

𝔸𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 occurs when the sun drops to 18 degrees below the horizon. It’s so dark that even in a city full of lights, it feels like nighttime. You can see the stars and planets clearly, especially when you’re away from urban lights. It‘s the final phase of twilight before the onset of true darkness. Once astronomical twilight ends, the sky is deemed completely dark, signaling the arrival of night. This typically occurs when the sun is 18 degrees or more below the horizon.

Astronomical Twilight ( Image Credit: Freepik )

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Twilight’s three phases, a gradual shift,
From day to night, a subtle gift.

First comes civil, a soft, dim light,
Where stars begin their evening show,
And distant horizons softly glow.

Nautical follows and the skies are blue,
Sailors navigate, the stars in view,
A fleeting moment, as dusk draws near,
Chasing the blue hour, calm and clear.

Astronomical, the darkest phase,
Deepening night, a cosmic maze,
Guiding dreams into the night,
Where distant stars ignite their light.

So let us watch this nightly show,
As twilight’s phases slowly grow.

I appreciate you taking the time to delve into my thoughts and ideas.
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𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝔻𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥

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