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A Rainy Day ends with a Fascinating Sunset

24 January 2008

A Beautiful Pattern of Crepuscular Rays over Alexandria, Egypt.
Crepuscular rays are Sun beams shining through breaks or holes in the clouds.
Photo by Aymen Ibrahem, Senior Astronomy Specialist

On 22 January 2008, heavy rains lasted for several hours in Alexandria, Egypt. BA Senior Astronomy Specialist, Aymen Ibrahem, observed the rainstorm, and at the end of the day, he pictured a fascinating sunset.

“Heavy rains lasted from the early morning till about 16:30 EET, when I photographed a rainbow,” said Ibrahem. “Shortly later, I observed sunset from a nearby beach. There were magnificent patterns of low clouds, glowing over the western horizon. The drifting clouds concealed the Sun, giving rise to a spectacular pattern of crepuscular rays, Sun beams shining through breaks or holes in the clouds. They were among the most beautiful crepuscular rays I have ever observed!”

Ibrahem was also able to image the sunset mirage phenomenon through a break in the clouds. “A break in the clouds permitted a hazy view of a reddish setting Sun,” added Ibrahem. “The low visibility also allowed imaging the sunset mirage phenomenon, which occurs a few minutes before sunset. Due to the sunset mirage, an image of the reddish, fuzzy Sun disc emerged from the sea and merged with the Sun, forming a bizarre object that sank slowly in the sea. This was a very interesting sunset observation.”

Ibrahem named his series of images “A Fuzzy Red Star”. Some of the images are presented in the picture gallery below.

Picture Gallery

Fig (1)
Rainstorm over the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The photo was taken while the rainstorm was subsiding.
Photo by Aymen Ibrahem, Senior Astronomy Specialist

Fig (2)
Golden Beams
This close-up photo shows crepuscular rays and cloud shadows.
Photo by Aymen Ibrahem, Senior Astronomy Specialist

Fig (3)
Sunset Mirage through Clouds
The picture shows a hazy view of the Sun through a break in the clouds. The Sun disc is distorted due to the sunset mirage effect, an optical phenomenon that occurs prior to sunset.
Photo by Aymen Ibrahem, Senior Astronomy Specialist

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