Anticrepuscular Rays Converge Opposite the Sun
Is there ever anything interesting to see in the direction opposite the Sun? Sometimes there is. Notable items include your own shadow , a shadow of the Moon during a total solar eclipse, a full moon -- in eclipse if the alignment's good enough, a full earth , planets at opposition , glints from planets , the gegenschein from interplanetary dust, the center of a rainbow , hall-of-mountain fogbows , an airplane glory , and something yet again different if your timing, clouds and Sun position are just right . This different effect starts with clouds near the Sun that are causing common crepuscular rays to stream through. In the featured rare image taken from an airplane in mid-April, these beams were caught converging 180 degrees around , on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun, where they are called anticrepuscular rays . Therefore, it may look like something bright is shining at the antisolar point near the image center, but actually it is reverse-shining because, from your direction, light is streaming in, not out.