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Shafts of sunlight

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grater | 09:57 Wed 07th Sep 2005 | Science
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When sunlight comes through gaps in clouds and shows up as beams of light, they are at wide angles to each other. As the sun is millions of miles away, surely they should be parallel?Grater
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Avatar Image Space
They are parallel.
It's the perspective that gives them different angles.
10:15 Wed 07th Sep 2005
Avatar Image dk_psy
not refraction?
11:35 Wed 07th Sep 2005
-- answer removed --
Avatar Image Tim Baxter
If they are parallel it seems to me that they would be converging at the sun.  But it appears (again to me) that the shafts' angle is so huge (maybe 100 degrees) that they must be converging on an object only a few miles away.  I'm probably wrong but I don't get the perspective answer.  I know it certainly isn't refraction.
00:56 Sun 11th Sep 2005

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