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Peter Lowenstein
Mutare, Zimbabwe
12/24/2023
06:14 pm

Equipment Details:

Tripod-mounted Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 in sunset mode.

Post-processing Details:

Image size reduction.

Image Details:

Spectacular Volcanic Sunset with Crepuscular Rays.
On Christmas Eve the near solstice Sun setting near Hospital Hill was followed twenty minutes later by a spectacular volcanic sunset display with radiating crepuscular rays which lasted for more than a quarter of an hour before receding below the horizon as darkness approached. Many colourful volcanic sunsets caused by aerosols ejected into the stratosphere by the massive Hunga-Tonga eruption in January 2022 continue to be observed in Mutare from time to time but this was the most spectacular recent one. It is amazing that after 23 months there should still be sufficient quantities of volcanic aerosols in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere to produce such intense displays.