Distant Versus Nearby Colors

April 04, 2004

Illusive2217

Provided and copyright by: Thomas Holmgren
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster; Thomas Holmgren

The photo above was taken this past February from Svalboviken, Sweden. At first glance, it might look that the salmon colored clouds (on the forested horizon) are fairly low in altitude but are nonetheless reflecting the light of the rising Sun before the higher appearing but colorless clouds overhead. Something is fishy. Our eyes occasionally can betray us and fool us into thinking that far is near and near is far. In this case, the glowing clouds are actually higher up (likely altocumulus) and thus further away than the lower darker clouds.

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