Rays Above Eastern New York
June 19, 2010
Photographer: Ronald J. Palazzolo
Summary Author: Ronald J. Palazzolo; Jim Foster
The photo above showing sunbeams dramatically bursting through a cloud deck was taken near Ancram, New York late in the day on May 28, 2010. These beams are simply crepuscular rays as viewed when the Sun is some distance above the horizon. As a result, they don't stretch across the sky but rather are focused more toward the surface. Note how they appear to radiate from a single point in the sky. The brighter rays are regions of sunlit air, where sunlight filters through cloud gaps; whereas the darkened rays are just shadowed regions.
Photo details:Camera Maker: SONY; Camera Model: DSC-W300; Image Date: 2010:05:29 05:46:23; Focal Length: 7.6mm; Aperture: f/8.0; Exposure Time: 0.0020 s (1/500); ISO equiv: 100; Exposure Bias: none; Metering Mode: Matrix; Exposure: program (Auto); White Balance: Auto; Flash Fired: No (Auto); Color Space: sRGB