Belt of Venus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

12/21/15, 13:14

Belt of Venus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Belt of Venus or Venus's Girdle is an atmospheric phenomenon seen at sunrise and sunset. Shortly after
sunset or shortly before sunrise, the observer is, or is very nearly, surrounded by a pinkish glow (or antitwilight arch) that extends roughly 1020 above the horizon. It is similar to alpenglow as they both are
caused by backscattering of reddened sunlight. The only difference is that alpenglow is characterized by
afterglow and is a red horizontal band visible just after sunset or before sunrise due to direct illumination of
clouds and aerosols low in the atmosphere, whereas the Belt of Venus is a rosy pinkish arch visible long after
sunset or long before sunrise, caused by backscattering of refracted sunlight due to fine dust particles high in the
atmosphere. In a way, the Belt of Venus is a true alpenglow visible at twilight near the anti-solar point. Often,
the glow is separated from the horizon by a dark layer, the Earth's shadow or "dark segment." The arch's light
pink color is due to backscattering of reddened light from the rising or setting Sun. A very similar effect can be
seen during a total solar eclipse. The zodiacal light, which is caused by reflection of sunlight from the
interplanetary dust in the solar system, is also a similar phenomenon.

ALMA and Chajnantor at twilight. Lying between the two groups of antennas are the Earth's shadow and
Belt of Venus phenomena.[1]

Contents
1 Gallery
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

Gallery

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_of_Venus

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Belt of Venus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

12/21/15, 13:14

Full moon rising near Linz,

Austria. Observed through
the Belt of Venus.

Belt of Venus at 42,000

feet (13,000 m)

Moon seen through the

Belt of Venus. Note that
the full Moon is near the
centre of the field of
view, which means that
the Sun must be behind
the camera, just below
the horizon.

Belt of Venus photographed over a lake in

Seattle, Washington.

See also
Anticrepuscular rays
Atmospheric refraction
Blue hour
Earth's shadow
Golden hour or Magic hour

References
1. "ALMA and Chajnantor at Twilight". ESO Picture of the Week. Retrieved 18 January 2014.

Naylor, John (2002). Out of the blue : a 24-hour skywatcher's guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. p. 72. ISBN 0-521-80925-8.

External links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_of_Venus

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Belt of Venus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

12/21/15, 13:14

APOD entry (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060723.html)

Further APOD entry (scroll to right of image for best view)
(http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap120207.html)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Belt_of_Venus&oldid=685195003"

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media related to
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Atmospheric optical phenomena
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