Janice Reynolds in Nokomis, Saskatchewan, Canada caught two different sky phenomena in this photo from July 30, 2017. Her photo is looking east in late day, when the sun is setting – or soon to set – the west. The photo shows both a double rainbow and anticrepuscular rays, both always seen in a direction opposite the sun. Janice wrote:
I saw this looking to the east. We had just had a very bad storm with very high sudden winds, thunder, lightening and some rain. I had rushed to the barnyard to lock up my animals and got stuck in it and took shelter in the barn with the animals. After the storm cleared, I fed and locked them up and the sky was clearing as quickly as it had blown in. The sun was starting to poke through the clouds. As I was heading back to the house, I saw this image and took the photo. So strange.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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