A FIRE SKY OVER THE CANYONS

 A FIRE SKY OVER THE CANYONS

The horizon lit up… and the whole sky fanned outward in golden lines.

This happened at sunrise in Bryce Canyon, Utah, when the Sun sat low between the ridges and the air was clear enough to turn every gap in the clouds into a beam. Those spreading streaks are crepuscular rays: sunlight streaming through breaks in layered clouds. They look like they’re “opening” across the sky because of perspective — the rays are mostly parallel, but they appear to spread as they stretch toward you.

The deep red glow comes from low-angle sunlight traveling through more atmosphere at sunrise, leaving warmer colors to dominate, while the canyon walls catch that light and reflect it back.