Explanation:
Although you've surely seen it, you might not have noticed it.
During a cloudless twilight, just before
sunrise or after
sunset,
part of the atmosphere above the horizon appears
slightly off-color, slightly pink.
Called the Belt of Venus, this off-color band between the dark
eclipsed sky and the
blue sky can be seen in nearly every direction
including that opposite the Sun.
Straight above, blue sky is normal sunlight reflecting off the atmosphere.
In the Belt of Venus, however, the
atmosphere reflects light from the setting (or rising)
Sun which appears more red.
The Belt of Venus can be seen from any location with a
clear horizon.
Pictured above, the Belt of Venus was photographed above
morning fog in the
Valley of the Moon, a famous wine-producing region in northern
California,
USA.
The belt is
frequentlycaughtbyaccidentinotherphotographs.
