Bad Astronomy

The long shadow of Mt. Rainier

Here in Boulder we get magnificent sunsets, especially in the summer when the clouds interplay with the mountains to the west. But I have never seen anything like this: the shadow of Washington state’s Mt. Rainier cast along the clouds at sunrise:

Holy (yes, in this case appropriately) Haleakala! [Click to cascadenate.]

That’s amazing. Mt. Rainier is a volcano, climbing to a height of over 14,000 feet (4300 meters). There are no other mountains anywhere near that height nearby, so it’s really prominent in the landscape (by comparison, there are several fourteeners, as they’re called, in the Rockies, so they don’t stick out as much though they’re still breathtaking). The rising Sun catches the peak, and the shadow is cast on the underside of the cloud layer. The dramatic sunrise colors really make this an incredibly beautiful shot.

The KOMO news site has lots more pictures of this, too. Go take a look!

And remember, when you’re outside, it always pays to look around you for a moment. You never know what incredible vista nature may have in store for you.

Tip o’ the snow cap (har har) to John Baxter.

Related posts:

- Amazing video of a bizarre, twisting, dancing cloud
- The fist of an angry cloud
- Time spent doing what you love is never wasted
- Windswept clouds over Boulder