Shadow of Haleakala

Provided by: David Harrington, University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy
Summary authors & editors: David Harrington, Jim Foster

The photo above shows a golden sky enveloping the shadow cast by the Haleakala Volcano on the island of Maui, Hawaii. When the Sun is low in the sky, it's possible to see mountain shadows projected on the distant atmosphere. For this effect to be observed, an abundant of aerosols must be present overhead -- dust particles, for example. Those aerosols outside of the shadow scatters sunlight, however, on the inside of the shadow this scattered sunlight is absent. Photo taken at sunset on December 23, 2006.

Related Links:

• Atmospheric Optics
• Atmospheric Phenomena
• Color and Light in Nature