Alpenglow

light · mountains · sky

Red light from the sky. Alpenglow happens when the Sun dips below the horizon but its light still reaches high up in the atmosphere above you. The upper air acts like a mirror, bouncing that light down to create a glowing band of red and orange.

Named after mountains. The word comes from the Alps, where mountain climbers first noticed this effect lighting up peaks at sunrise and sunset. Even though it's named after mountains, you can see alpenglow from anywhere if you know when and where to look.

Perfect timing matters. You'll only spot alpenglow during a brief window when the Sun is between 6 and 18 degrees below the horizon. This golden window lasts just a few minutes, so catching it means getting outside at just the right moment.

Opposite the Sun always. Unlike regular sunset colors, alpenglow appears on the opposite side of the sky from where the Sun went down. Look away from the sunset glow and you might catch this rarer, more delicate phenomenon.

Dust makes it brighter. Particles like dust and pollution in the air actually make alpenglow more vivid and colorful. Ironically, cleaner air sometimes makes this effect harder to see because there's less to reflect the light.