Today's Image

Cloud shadow over Las Vegas

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October 6, 2018

Cloud shadow over Las Vegas by Bettina Berg.

What you see here is the shadow of a cloud, captured over Las Vegas, Nevada, by Bettina Berg on October 1, 2018. The great sky optics expert Les Cowley – of the website Atmospheric Optics – calls them the inverse of crepuscular rays and notes they can produce dramatic effects. I asked Les about Bettina’s photo, and he wrote:

A remarkable sight.

There is a combination of (1) a low sun, (2) a widespread layer of high cloud and (3) a towering cumulus that just breaks through the cloud layer. The cumulus top is casting its shadow down onto, or along, the cloud layer making the latter dark.

Check Les’ website for a diagram that explains more about cloud shadows here.

A wider view of the cloud shadow over Las Vegas by Bettina Berg.

Bottom line: Cloud shadow over Las Vegas on October 1, 2018.

More photos: Cloud to cloud shadow over China

Cloud shadow mystery … solved?

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October 6, 2018

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Deborah Byrd

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About the Author:

Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah 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. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. 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.