In Which the Sun Briefly Gets Lost

I know some astronomers; mind if I link?

I've read about the phenomenon. Of course, now that I'm thinking about it, my memory is a blank. :)

Hmmm - I wonder if it might be an afterglow effect or something similar.

The reverse of this maybe?

Could there have been a low bank of clouds that blended with the horizon? I've seen that happen and only noticed it because the sun peeked out from below for a moment before entirely setting.

I am going to link this, too. I have a PhD in astronomy on my fList. I am quite sure she has an answer, and would enjoy explaining it to you.

Sounds like atmospheric "lensing" -- denser or less-dense air layer at the horizon, bending light. As others mentioned, the "green flash" effect comes from something similar.

Not an astronomer, so I await correction.

Hi, I'm one of the astronomers janetmiles knows.

There are two things that can cause this sort of thing, and it's the wrong time of year for one of them.

1. When the Earth is near perihelion (which happens between 2 Jan and 4 Jan every year) it's moving fast enough in its orbit around the Sun that with just the right sort of horizon it's possible for the Sun to appear to move backward (either rising, ducking back below the horizon, and then rising again, or something like you saw.) However, this is obviously NOT the cause of what you saw. I just mention it for completeness.

2. Air bends light. Different masses of air can have slightly different indices of refraction, and this can cause the kind of strange horizon effects you saw. I *think* that what you saw involved the Sun setting to your west with the light coming through clear air with a low index of refraction. Then, just as the Sun got far enough below your horizon for it to appear to have set from your vantage point, some of the Sun's rays began to pass through a less clear volume of air with a higher index of refraction. This resulted in you seeing *another* image of the Sun, after you'd already seen the Sun set.

It's also possible that after the Sun set from your perspective, the light of the setting Sun began to pass through a region of ice crystals, creating a sun pillar further to the west. You may have seen the upper portion of a sun pillar. I mention this possibility in the interest of completeness, but from your description I think you saw what I've explained under 2 above.