Crepuscular rays - wikipedia Crepuscular rays Crepuscular rays in Brazil Crepuscular rays / krɪˈpʌskjʊlər / ( more commonly known as sunbeams, sun rays, ), in atmospheric optics, are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from the point in the sky where the sun is located. These rays, which stream through gaps in clouds ( particularly stratocumulus ) or between other objects, are columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud - shadowed regions. Despite seeming to converge at a point, the rays are in fact near - parallel shafts of sunlight. Their apparent convergence is a perspective effect, similar, for example, to the way that parallel railway lines seem to converge at a point in the distance. The name comes from their frequent occurrences during twilight hours ( those around dawn and dusk ), when the contrasts between light and dark are the most obvious. Crepuscular comes from the Latin word `` crepusculum '', meaning twilight. Contents 1 Anticrepuscular rays 2 Colour 3 Alternative names 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Anticrepuscular rays Main article : Anticrepuscular rays Anticrepuscular rays opposite the setting sun off the Florida Gulf Coast of the United States The rays in some cases may extend across the sky and appear to converge at the antisolar point, the point on the sky sphere directly opposite the sun. In this case they are called anticrepuscular or antisolar rays. These are not as easily spotted as crepuscular rays. This apparent dual convergence ( to both the solar and antisolar points ) is a perspective effect analogous to railway tracks appearing to converge to opposite points in opposite directions. Colour Crepuscular rays usually appear orange because the path through the atmosphere at sunrise and sunset passes through up to 40 times as much air as rays from a high midday sun. Particles in the air scatter short wavelength light ( blue and green ) through Rayleigh scattering much more strongly than longer wavelength yellow and red light. Alternative names This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2013 ) Backstays of the sun -- a nautical term, from the fact that backstays that brace the mast of a sailing ship converge in a similar way Buddha rays Cloud breaks Jacob 's Ladder Ropes of Maui -- originally. taura a Maui -- from the Maori tale of Maui Potiki restraining the sun with ropes to make the days longer Shafts of light Sun drawing water -- from the ancient Greek belief that sunbeams drew water into the sky ( an early description of evaporation ) Sunbeams Sunburst Volumetric lighting ( used by the computer graphics industry ) God rays ( used by the computer graphics industry ) Fingers of God Jesus Rays Devil 's Rays ( refers to anticrepuscular rays only ) Tyndall rays Gallery Crepuscular rays in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Crepuscular rays in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Crepuscular rays taken near Waterberg Plateau, Namibia Jacob 's Ladder crepuscular rays Crepuscular rays in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco See also Airglow Anticrepuscular rays Light beam Rayleigh scattering Tyndall effect References Jump up ^ Edens, Harald. `` Crepuscular rays ''. Weather Photography lightning, clouds, atmospheric optics & astronomy. Retrieved November 1, 2011. Jump up ^ Cowley, Les. `` Anti-solar ( anti-crepuscular ) rays ''. Atmospheric Optics. Retrieved March 19, 2015. Jump up ^ Day, John A. ( 2005 ). The Book of Clouds. Sterling. pp. 124 -- 127. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4027 - 2813 - 6. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 09. Jump up ^ E.g. this term is mentioned in : Krüger, Jens ; Bürger, Kai ; Westermann, Rüdiger ( 2006 ). `` Interactive screen - space accurate photon tracing on GPUs '' ( PDF ). Proceedings of the 17th Eurographics conference on Rendering Techniques ( EGSR'06 ). External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to : Crepuscular rays ( category ) Sunrays - Crepuscular rays, Explanation & Images detailed description of how Crepuscular rays occur Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crepuscular_rays&oldid=796706188 '' Categories : Atmospheric optical phenomena Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from August 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017 Articles needing additional references from April 2013 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikimedia Commons Беларуская Български Bosanski Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Português Русский Svenska 文言 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 22 August 2017, at 16 : 06. About Wikipedia

Question: what are the rays from the sun called
Answer: Crepuscular rays