Red Sky at Night
Signs in the sky have long been used for weather predictions. 2000 years ago the Gospel of Matthew records an ancient version of the rhyme many of us learned as kids: “Red sky at night, sailors delight; Red sky at morning, sailors warning.”
A red sunset is often seen when the Western sky is especially clear. The colour occurs because the sun is low in the sky, and its light passes through additional atmosphere. The colour is enhanced if a stable high pressure region is present. The reason for this is that high pressure suppresses cloud formation and holds air pollutants near the Earth. These pollutants further scatter the colours of sunlight, enhancing the reddening effect in the West.
Since high pressure generally brings good weather, red skies in the evening often indicate that fair weather is approaching from the West. On the other hand, if the red appears in the Eastern morning sky, then the high pressure region has already passed through. Since lower pressure usually follows a high pressure system, and is often associated with unsettled weather, red sky in the morning can indicate stormy weather.
Evening redness can be caused by sunlight reflecting from a cloud layer retreating in the East and morning redness may be due to reflection from an advancing cloud layer.
So next time you hear the ancient rhyme about the red sky, don’t dismiss it altogether, it may well predict tomorrow’s weather.
We often use a variety of clues to give us insight about future events. Like today’s quote about the meaning of the red sky at night or at morning, sometimes these are sayings which have been based in years of observations in nature. At other times the clues we use are based in speculation, myth and superstition. Many people are as likely to accept and act upon the one kind of clues as the others.
So, we need to ask, “What kinds of claims can actually help us know and prepare for the future?” Oftentimes science has been pitted against religion in these matters. Science is based upon observation of events, the associations of cause and effect, the discovery of laws to which the world and everything in it obey. Because science is concerned with explanation - the ‘How’ - of the universe, it attempts to provide details of the mechanisms by which things come to be. By using experiments where possible, scientists undertake to replicate past results. They are in pursuit of scientific evidence for their claims. And on this basis, they offer predictions of future events.
Yet science is not in the business of answering the “Why” questions. Nor is science the only sphere for answering questions about the future. Yet in the Western world, we are fairly dependent on accepting scientific knowledge as sole arbiter of truth.
It is worth considering other sources of truth and knowledge claims, and examining them for correspondence to reality. While science may be able to tell us the truth, it may not be able to tell us the whole truth. Science may only be able to provide explanations in certain realms and to a circumscribed extent. We need to be sure, however, that the questions for which science is not designed to provide answers are addressed to appropriate and reliable sources.
Western society lives with what is commonly known as the fact-value dichotomy. If it’s scientific, it’s established fact and everyone must believe this common public knowledge. However, if it’s a matter of value, then it’s private and a matter of opinion, preference, or taste.
However, just because something is not scientific, it does not mean that it is not true. Moreover, if something is a matter of value, it is because it is based in some truth - a moral truth, a philosophical or religious truth. Science has value, but it does have limits. Examine your thoughts on the source of knowledge in your own life. Where does knowledge come from? What is its authority? Why is it worth putting your faith in this source of truth?
Dr. David Humphreys and Debbie Hughes
© August 2004
