The Green Flash

I have seen this phenomenon twice. Different than the coveted green flash associated with sun setting over the ocean, I've only seen this flash while being in very remote areas on very clear nights.  The first time I witnessed it was while hiking back to camp while elk hunting.  We had hunted until sunset and then began the long hike back on an old logging road. My father, sister and I had been hiking for quite some time and were remarking on the brightness of the stars on this cold crisp night.  All of a sudden the was a bright green flash that lit up the entire area around us.  It happened only for a split second but all three of us saw it and were left completely speechless.

We were at loss as to what it possibly could have been.  There were no clouds for as far as the eye could see, no airplanes, helicopters, or anything else capable of producing light.  We continued on still in slight disbelief over what had just happened but joked that maybe this just a giant camera flash coming from a satellite and was Google's method of getting its images for the satellite view on Google Maps. A little further down the road it happened again. Not as big, but sill a definite split second flash that lit up the area. Because of the brightness of the stars we spent much our time hiking back with our faces to the sky and there were no meteors. Just a perfectly calm sky then a split second FLASH that each of us saw every time it happened.  It continued to happen on our way back but gradually came to a stop. We discussed it to great length but never were able to come up with a satisfactory answer.

Fast forward 3 or so years to a backpacking trip to Elephant's Perch.  We had had a long day of hiking and were laying in our tent discussing the day's adventures and our plans for the next day. Eventually we decided to call it a night and put off all further discussion until the morning.  While Sam and Daniel made efforts to fall asleep however, I lay looking up at the stars that were so bright and easy to see because of our remote location.  I had not thought about the green flash for quite some time but as I lay looking up at the stars I saw it. Not nearly as bright as what I had experience with my dad and sister 3 years prior, but it was a definite flash that lit up the entire sky from horizon to horizon. I quickly told Sam and Daniel what I had seen and told them of what had happened 3 years earlier. I told them to stay awake and watch for it again with me, to which they were less than enthusiastic about doing. However, I convinced them to watch for at least a little while and after a few minutes of waiting there was a FLASH which the three of us saw together.  The next hour was spent watching the flash that came at irregular intervals, and although we discussed it for quite some time no plausible explanation was determined.

We have researched it but have not even found mention of anyone else ever seeing this phenomenon. If anyone has seen this happen or has an explanation they would like to propose, feel free to comment below. I have not seen it happen since Elephant's Perch but am thankful that I have been able to witness it twice. It truly was a remarkable experience.