We’ve all seen crepuscular rays, or sunrays, converging on the sun. They appear as pillars of sunlight, all converging at a single point, streaming up from the horizon or down through gaps in clouds. Next time you see them … turn around.

If you look opposite the direction of the sun, you might catch a glimpse of elusive anticrepuscular rays. These rays appear to converge towards the antisolar point – that is, the point on the sky opposite the sun. If you want to see them, remember these three tips:

1. Look in the direction opposite the sun, next time you see crepuscular rays extending from the horizon.

2. Look carefully. Remember that anticrepuscular rays are fainter and more elusive than crepuscular rays.

3. Watch around sunrise or sunset for anticrepuscular rays. That’s when they are are most frequently visible.

Les Cowley of the great website Atmospheric Optics says:

Like crepuscular rays they are parallel shafts of sunlight from holes in the clouds and their apparently odd directions are a perspective effect. Think of a long straight road, it converges towards the horizon but turn around and it also converges to the opposite horizon. Crepuscular and anticrepuscular rays behave in the same way. Anticrepuscular rays are not rare but they must be sought carefully. When ordinary crepuscular rays are visible, turn around and search for their opposite numbers.

See photo of crepuscular rays extending across the entire sky at Les Cowley’s website

Bottom line: If you want to see anticrepuscular rays – columns of sunlight, often with dark shadowed areas between the columns – look carefully opposite the direction of the sun. They are most often seen at sunrise or sunset.