Earth's Shadow

Last night's sunset created the typical pretty scene to the west, but all who turned around and looked in the opposite direction were treated to the Eartrh's shadow rising up above horizon and into the hazy atmosphere over southern Arizona.

I took this from outside the 60" dome on Mt. Lemmon. The mountain peak off in the distance is Mt. Graham, home of the Vatican Telesacope and the Large Binocular Telescope. The dark gray band is Earth's shadow projected on to the atmosphere. The bands in the lit part of the sky are called Crepuscular Rays and are the shadows of clouds visible in the haze. They always appear to meet at the point opposite the Sun, just as railroad tracks appear to converge on the horizon.

Canon 20D - 1/30th, 18mm @ f/ 3.5, ISO 100