On Monday 16th of October, a strange red/orange sun was seen hanging in an equally strange orange sky. At Newstead wood school many students found themselves facing what they jokingly called the end of the world, the apocalypse or doomsday. While some joked others looked up anxiously at the sky. Some parents were also worried about the early dusk that had set in, calling students and telling them to stay at school so they could be picked up. Whether this was due to the darkness of the day or worry that the red sun was danger. Of course despite all the crazy guesses and assumptions there was a logical reason behind it.
Hurricane Ophelia was the cause of Monday’s excitement. Hurricane Ophelia originated in the Atlantic and went north pulling in Tropical air containing dust particles from the Sahara. Wavelengths of visible light decrease as you go down the rainbow. Red being the longest wave and violet the shortest. The dust caused the shorter wavelength light to be scattered away, leaving the longer wavelength light. So the sky and sun were left illuminated by the red and orange light.
However, despite this fact, the hurricane was the least favorite assumption students preferring to choose judgment day and the apocalypse. The students gave almost the same reaction as one gets with snow. Delight.
At the end of the school day students scattered wildly running back to their form rooms as the sky continued to darken. Antonette Ricardo remarked It was like an early Halloween, kids running everywhere laughing as they warned each other to repent their sins.
