Why do the rays of the sun shine through clouds at an angle?

On Thu, 25 Mar 1999 you wrote:

> Each morning going to work about 7 a.m. the sun rises here in CT and this
> morning only the sun rays were showing through the clouds. Why are the rays
> at an angle rather than straight/vertical? I would be very interested in
> the explanation. Thanks and have a nice day.

Hello Ms. Zimmer,

I'm not positive that I'm answering the question your asking ( a picture
would be nice, but that's too hard to do over email!), but I'll give it a
shot.

The rays of the sun should appear to be coming straight out of the center
of the sun, like spokes coming out of a bicycle wheel, or like the
cartoon drawings of the sun people draw. So, even if the sun is still
below the horizon (hasn't risen yet), not all the rays should look like
they are coming straight up out of the ground. Again, imagine the bicycle
tire mostly hidden below the edge of a table. Only the spoke directly
above the center of the wheel will be coming straight up.

Also, when the rays of the sun are poking down from the clouds, these
rays should trace back up to the sun through the hole in the clouds.

Dows this answer your question? Sorry I can't be more specific. But if
you see this again, pay attention to where the sun is. All of the sun's
rays have to come from the sun somehow!

Thanks for writing!

Sincerely,
Kurtis Williams

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