Anticrepuscular rays

A very beautiful orangy light beam was observed radiating from the sun across the twilight sky. The streak was actually the cloud shadows of approaching relatively thick high clouds being cirrus spissatus from the western horizon causing crepuscular rays. These high clouds are explained in detail here. In this case, the beams and shadows of incoming cirrus may have crossed the whole sky becoming visible again at the antisolar point. This photographed sun ray, converging in the sky opposite to the Sun, is called an anticrepuscular ray. The point of the ray is called the antisolar point being the point directly opposite the sun. This convergence of anticrepuscular rays to this point could be clearly observed in the panoramic second thumbnail photo which also shows faint bluish streaks on the extreme left of the photo. The first thumbnail is how the same anti-crepuscular ray began forming before sunset and actually changing colour from a pinkish hue to orange as the blue light is scattered away. Being opposite of the setting sun, the antisolar point was almost the farthest south it could be in the eastern horizon due to the maximum sun angle of the June solstice. Indeed, this was a rare meteorological optical phenomena being observable due to very good visibility, exact timing and position of the high clouds and the fact of being on a very elevated area, in this instance from the rooftop of a church. Such a phenomena could very easily go unnoticed especially at ground level without a good view of the horizons.

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