Anti-twilight Arch from Nebrodi Mountains in Sicily
October 16, 2019
Photographer: Salvatore Cerruto
Summary Authors: Salvatore Cerruto; Jim Foster
The photo above shows an enchanting twilight sky over the partially cloud-covered Nebrodi Mountains in Sicily (Italy). It was captured on September 15, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. from an altitude of approximately 4,000 ft (1,220 m). The landscape was fading from light to shadow as the Sun had just set behind me -- the camera was facing east.
The pinking band separating light from shadow is called the anti-twilight arch or belt of Venus. As the Sun sinks deeper below the western horizon, the Earth's shadow rises in the east, and like the highest clouds on this photo (top center), the band is still sunlit, illuminated by lingering rays of sunlight.