‘Fingers of light’ illuminate Jeddah sky at sunset

Jeddah’s sky offered a striking spectacle at sunset as crepuscular rays appeared in the form of contrasting beams of light and shadow stretching from the horizon, creating the effect of ‘fingers of light’ intermingling with the sunset’s colors.

Majed Abu Zahra, president of the Jeddah Astronomy Society, explained that this phenomenon occurs when sunlight passes through gaps between clouds. The clouds block parts of the sunlight, resulting in alternating bright and dark areas caused by their shadows.

Abu Zahra noted that the scattering of sunlight in the atmosphere helps make these beams more visible, while fine particles of dust and aerosols suspended in the air further enhance their appearance.

He added that although sunlight reaches Earth’s surface in nearly parallel directions, the human eye perceives the rays as if they diverge from a single point near the horizon, an effect caused by visual perspective.

The Jeddah Astronomy Society president pointed out that crepuscular rays are a relatively common optical phenomenon, but their clarity varies depending on the position and thickness of clouds, the amount of suspended particles in the atmosphere, and the sun’s elevation angle.

These rays are most visible at sunset, when the sun is low and near the horizon, providing the optimal angle to observe the beams formed between light and shadow.

During the phenomenon, Jeddah’s sky displayed a gradient of colors from blue and violet to pink, gold, and orange, intersected by contrasting beams of light and shadow—a visual scene created by the interaction of sunlight with clouds and the atmosphere.