Crepuscular rays — beams stemming from the setting or rising sun — are created by clouds or mountains obstructing the sunlight, splitting the sky into beams and shadows ...

This is because a lone thunderstorm about 215 miles away was large (and tall) enough to block out the sun right as it was setting over Central Texas. Radar image Friday evening at 7:15p ...

Near the horizon, the Sun looks a bit squashed. The rising full Moon looks the same way, for the same reason. When you look straight up, you are looking through one air-mass, about 300 miles of air.