photo #5306299

Irene Roberts (Member 61,357) was intrigued by the shadow effect at the top of a Cumulus congestus cloud she spotted over Tysoe, Warwickshire, England. The shadow is misleading – it looks as though a light source from below is casting the congestus’s shadow onto the Altocumulus cloud above. In fact, the opposite is happening: the dazzling Sun is shining from above the summit of the tall Cumulus and casting its shadow down onto a thin layer of cloud just below which the Cumulus tower had grown through. This cloud optical illusion of light and shade is a reminder that there’s always more to the sky than first meets the eye.