For centuries, these seemingly simple questions have engaged a wide range of scientists. Yet today, far from being a closed book, the clear sky still has valuable lessons to teach about atmospheric scattering and structure, color perception, and spectral remote sensing. Using hyperspectral imaging and analysis, my research helps answer some of the basic sky optics questions given above, even as it raises entirely new ones.

In this webinar hosted by the Color Technical Group, Raymond Lee will combine visual and quantitative results from all-sky imaging, Rayleigh and Monte Carlo modeling, and digital photography to explore the full gamut of clear-sky questions, answers, and new puzzles. Viewers with at least some background in physics and/or meteorology will find this webinar both informative and visually appealing.

Subject Matter Level: Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of the topic

What You Will Learn:

• Scattering basics for clear daytime & twilight skies
• Acquiring in-situ spectral & color data of these phenomena
• Optical & meteorological interpretation of these data

Who Should Attend:

• Graduate students, undergraduates, and educators in optics, meteorology, physics, and environmental remote sensing

About the Presenter: Raymond L. Lee, Jr.

Until 2021, Raymond L. Lee, Jr. was a Research Professor at the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he also taught midshipmen in the departments of Mathematics, Oceanography, and Physics.  Lee’s scientific research in atmospheric optics and radiative transfer has been supported by a series of National Science Foundation grants, from which he has published 28 peer-reviewed technical papers in OSA journals and a scholarly book on the natural rainbow’s scientific and cultural history (The Rainbow Bridge:  Rainbows in Art, Myth, and Science; Penn State Press; 2001).  Lee has been an Optical Society member since 1996 and an American Meteorological Society member since 1978.