Nature Science

THE ART & SCIENCE OF EARTH SHADOWS

Image: by Marcin Sobas. Dream.

See the magnificence of Earth’s most dramatic shadows, including photos of cloud shadows, thousands of miles long, taken from the International Space Station by astronaut Alexander Gerst, and sun ray shadow stripes, taken by photographer Marcin Sobas.

Image: by Marcin Sobas. Between the Rays.

Rays of sunlight exist because of shadows. When sunlight breaks through gaps clouds, trees, or other dense objects, it forms rays, divided by shadowed stripes. It’s breathtaking to behold.

Image: by Marcin Sobas. Spruces.

Polish photographer Marcin Sobas captures the beauty of rays and shadows as they form in Poland’s Beskidy Mountains.

Image: by Marcin Sobas. Free Like a Raven.

The technical term for sun rays is crepuscular rays. Light and alternating shadow seem to radiate from the center of the sun, but that is the illusion of perspective. They are, in actuality, close to parallel.

Image: by Marcin Sobas. Car in Rays.

These rays and shadows exist for only a few passing moments, as the Earth rotates, and conditions change.

Sobas seeks out the perfect time and space for rays and shadows.

Image: by Marcin Sobas. Hidden in the Shadows.

The best times of year to find them is spring and the end of the summer, when the temperature is warm, but not hot, and days are longer.

Crepuscular rays appear most distinctly during twilight hours (those around dawn and dusk), when contrast between light and dark is strongest. The name, crepuscular, comes from the Latin word "crepusculum", meaning twilight.

Image: by Marcin Sobas. Pastel Morning.

Stratocumulus clouds and mist in the air only adds the the drama. Sobas spends many hours hunting the rays and shadows, as perfect conditions are rare.

See more images from Sobas’ beautiful rays and shadows collection here.

Cloud Shadows in Space by Alexander Gerst.

Image: by Alexander Gerst. Courtesy of Alexander Gerst's Blue Dot Blog. Cloud Shadows in Space.

Seemingly endless shadows are cast from clouds, stretching out for thousands of miles, across the Earth’s surface. Astronauts see them while flying over 200 miles high above the ground aboard the International Space Station.

Image: by Alexander Gerst. Courtesy of Alexander Gerst's Blue Dot Blog. Cloud Shadows in Space.

Astronaut Alexander Gerst loves to photograph cloud shadows from his perch on the ISS. He takes thousands of photos of the constantly changing planet below, seeing weather, motion, and the evidence of humanity playing out in real time.

Image: by Alexander Gerst. Courtesy of Alexander Gerst's Blue Dot Blog. Cloud Shadows in Space.

Gerst, a geophysicist, keeps a watch out his window for super-dense clouds below. They cast the longest shadows, reaching past the horizon, dropping off into the vast darkness of space.

Image: by Alexander Gerst. Courtesy of Alexander Gerst's Blue Dot Blog. Cloud Shadows in Space.

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Image: by Alexander Gerst. Courtesy of Alexander Gerst's Blue Dot Blog. Cloud Shadows in Space.

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