Is it Alpenglow on a cloud.?

Mature thunderstorms can reach as high as 50,000 ft. At Sunset or long after they glow with color. Is it Alpenglow too or is there another term. This mature Cumulonimbus dwarfs Mt. Williamson at just over 14,000 feet. Taken North of Independence this last memorial day. Olympus E-500 f/11 Iso 100 1/8 tripod. I think it was from Gooodale Crk rd.

Wow, thart is one firery hell of a sunset up there. Almost biblical. I've got to be honest I don't like the tele poles.

Paul, this is a heck of a sunset. I do not think this meets the criteria for Alpenglow you mentioned. I know Preston had a post awhile back outlining that term with a full definition as I recall. You might look for that post for clarification. Regardless, wonderful colors overall.

Here's the text from my earlier post at the NPN Landscape forum...

"When I was at Sonora Pass with Lon back in July, we were camped below some nice granite crags. Soon after sunset, we observed some nice alpenglow on the peaks.

There seems to be some confusion among photographers as to what the phenomenon of alpenglow really is. I had a pretty good idea, but wanted to be certain, so I did a little research and found the following definition in the American Meteorological Society Glossary.

"Alpenglow—The occasional reappearance of sunset colors on a (snow-covered) mountaintop soon after sunset and a similar phenomenon before sunrise.

Alpenglow has three phases. During evening twilight, the first stage is the mountain peak's usual coloration seen at low sun elevations h(sub)0 (h(sub)0 < 2°). Second is the alpenglow proper that occurs a few minutes after the first color has faded (h(sub)0 slightly less than 0°). The peaks are still in direct sunlight, and their colors are purer and often pinker than before. The alpenglow boundary may first occur hundreds of meters below the summit, then moves upward, and finally fades as the atmosphere's dark segment rises. Third is the afterglow, which occurs nearly simultaneously with the first purple light. The peaks are no longer in direct sunlight; the illumination is more diffuse and its boundary vaguer than in the earlier stages. The third stage lasts longer than the other two (−5° < h(sub)0 < −9°), and its color varies from yellow to purple. A faint second afterglow has been reported and is associated with the rare occurrence of a second purple light. The alpenglow appears to be much less common at sunrise than at sunset. The morning colors are more pink and purple, while those of evening are more orange and red."

The light and color we see on the peaks is caused by sunlight being backscattered by dust, snow or ice particles, or water droplets in the atmosphere."

So, there you have it. I hope you find this enlightening, and possibly helpful in your photography efforts."

-P

Preston,

Thanks, so it's a result of the above conditions, but since it's on clouds instead of a mountains it's not Alpenglow as defined. Sure is pretty though.

quite the display of color there paul!

Beautiful clouds!

Preston, thanks for splainin' bout alpenglow.

Same thing, just different terminology. As the sun sets, the light is filtered through more atmosphere, which absorbs the shorter blue wavelengths, leaving the warmer colors we're familiar with. The higher the altitude, the more color. That's why clouds like this, which are at very high altitudes, pick up these great colors. Beautiful sunset Paul.

Terrific sunset there and I am yet to see one in the Sierras :-)...i really like the ambiance.

That there is some serious light or whatever you wish to call it. Must have been a great way to end the day. Nice catch!