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Crepuscular Rays

Crepuscular Rays

Sunlight filtering through clouds at sunrise reveals a pattern of dark cone-shaped shadows and bright rays of light in this image taken at Grand Tetons National Park.

The photographer was facing east—away from the iconic Grand Teton Mountains—when he snapped this image in 2017.

The light rays are formed by sunlight piercing the clouds. The darker regions represent the clouds casting shadows where sunlight could not pass through.

This interplay of light and shadow is similar to the bright rays and dark shadows stretching across nearby active galaxy IC 5063. In that case, a monster black hole in the galaxy's core is producing a gusher of light from superheated infalling gas. Most of the light is penetrating the dust ring encircling the black hole, creating the bright rays. However, some light hits dense patches in the ring, casting the ring's shadow into space.

  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Crepuscular rays at Grand Teton National Park
  • Release Date
    November 19, 2020
  • Science Release
    Hubble Catches ‘Shadow Play’ of the Disk Around a Black Hole
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Z. Levay

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Dark Rays in IC 5063 (Annotated)

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Scenario for Mysterious Light Beams from Active Galaxy

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Last Updated
Mar 12, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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