CREPUSCULAR RAYS
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“CREPUSCULAR RAYS” was FEATURED in MORNINGS AND EVENINGS—SUNBEAMS AND STORMS




These striking “CREPUSCULAR RAYS” light up the evening sky, and appear as brilliant golden sunbeams which appear to be dancing across the setting sun. This beautiful photo was captured in northeastern Kentucky, USA.

“CREPUSCULAR RAYS” are rays converging on the Sun, opposite of anticrepuscular rays that converge on the anti-solar point. “CREPUSCULAR RAYS,” in atmospheric optics are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky, whereas anticrepuscular rays are seen opposite the sun in the sky. “CREPUSCULAR” comes from the Latin word “crepusculum,” which literally means “twilight.”

“CREPUSCULAR RAYS” are most frequently visible near sunrise or sunset, and they are usually much brighter than anticrepuscular rays because they are seen on the same side of the sky as the sun. These rays, which stream through gaps in clouds or between other objects, are columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions.

“CREPUSCULAR RAYS” can appear when the clouds (or terrain) that are responsible for the rays are below the horizon. The name comes from their frequent occurrences “DURING CREPUSCULAR HOURS” (those around dawn and dusk), when the contrasts between light and dark are the most obvious.

“CREPUSCULAR RAYS” are solar rays cast on the purple red, while the sun is below the observer’s horizon, and sometimes span the entire twilight sky towards the Earth’s shadow band (the twilight wedge). If the purple red is obvious, look for these uncommon rays fanning out of the horizon.
Photo taken with my Canon EOS 40D camera;
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens.
For more information, go to CREPUSCULAR RAYS
For further review, go to WEATHER SCAPES