Anticrepuscular Surprise
September 28, 2005
Provided and copyright by: John Rummel, Madison Metropolitan School District
Summary authors & editors: John Rummel
The photo above showing a display of breathtaking anticrepuscular rays was taken near Taos, New Mexico on July 28, 2005. While crepuscular rays can occasionally be observed near the horizon where the Sun is setting or rising (see the Earth Science Picture of the Day for Monday and Tuesday of this week), the opposite horizon may hold a surprise as well. When conditions are just right, the Sun's rays stream right over your head and converge on the eastern horizon (at sunset), an effect known as anticrepuscular rays. The fact that the rays appear to converge on each horizon is due to the observers perspective -- they're actually parallel to one another. See also the Earth Science Picture of the Day for Thursday and Friday.
Related Links: