urban ku # 80 ~ hobbit light
Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 09:01AM 
A very odd and eerie light • click to emmbiggenLast evening as the wife and I were discussing some family matters, my eye was caught by a small sliver of sky that was peeking through a bush outside of a window on the side of our house. What little I could see looked incredibly odd.
I jumped to my feet, headed to the front door and I was immediately struck by the sensation that I was looking through a tinted window. Even though I have only experienced it 3 or 4 times in my life, I knew right way as I emerged from the house that it was 'hobbit light'. I started yelling for anyone to hear, "Get out here, get out here. It's hobbit light."
As the wife, one of the college kids and I wandered about in a state of wonder, neighbors began to emerge from their houses as well. They too had been drawn by/to the light. None could recall ever having experienced it before - the entire landscape was bathed/saturated in a deep, soft, other-worldly reddish glow.
The entirely odd and disconcerting thing was that there was absolutely no visible sunset. The western sky was covered entirely (north to south) by bank of low dark grey rain clouds. The cloud bank also extended, west to east, from the horizon to cover about 1/2 of the sky. Well above this bank of dark clouds were more 'regular' clouds with a deep blue sky poking through. These clouds were bathed in the a soft and subtle warm light from the sunset (the sun must have been below the horizon) and it was this light that was reflected on the landscape.
I don't know if this phenomenom has a 'real' name. I call it 'hobbit light' because the first time I experienced it (many, many years ago), I was deep in the thrawl of one of Tolkien's books and there was a particular passage that involved a vividly described eerie light upon the land. So, it was dubbed 'hobbit light'.
PS - on a techincal note, some might suspect that I used the H/S slider on this picture and, in fact, I did. However, contrary to what you might think, I used it to desaturate the color.
gravitas et nugalis
Featured Comment: Timothy Kingston wrote; ... I've seen, what I'm quite sure you are talking about a few times ... Usually it occurs in the evening ,usually after or sometimes just before a thunderstorm. Also, oftem there is no wind, I mean even the trembling aspen are totally still ...
My response: Timothy - in my experience, always after a thunderstorm and, yes. you're absolutely right - as still and silent as death.
Reader Comments (4)
we had the same thing 40 miles southwest of you. Maybe it's just my naturally paranoid self, but instead of telling the family to come outside and look, my gut reaction was to get them all into the bomb shelter!
Brings back the memory of "duck and cover". I have never experienced " hobbit light". Hopefully someday I will.
I love it when that happens, but I've yet to grab a photo of it. I read about the meteorological reason for it once, but I can't find the article online (something about the sun beneath the horizon as you mentioned). Regardless, hobbit light is a great, evocative name.
I've seen, what I'm quite sure you are talking about a few times. I live on about seven acres of property , and am surrounded by trees at the borders, we have no curtains on almost all our windows. So, I get to notice some stramge happenings like this, fairly often.
Usualy it occurs in the evening ,usually after or sometimes just before a thunderstorm. Also, oftem there is no wind, I mean even the trembling aspen are totally still.
It is not something one soon forgets and I think you've captured the scene very well.
Tim