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I searched about this and I did find that it's like the effect you have on train tracks or roads (that they appear to be going to converge at a point), but doesn't that only happen when the object stretchs towards you and when the point where it arrives is much closer to you than the point where it originates?

Why do sunbeams diverge even though the sun is much more than a few kilometers away? Yes, I already saw this question. But don't the answers they gave only work if the sun rays are directed towards the observer?

Why does in this picture, we can see two sun rays, both originating and arriving in very close places, not directed towards us, and yet one looks parallel while the other is tilted 45°?

danilo
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  • Check out this thread: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/154951/ ("Why do sunbeams diverge even though the sun is much more than a few kilometers away?") – Not_Einstein Oct 19 '21 at 23:15
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    Does this answer your question? Why do sunbeams diverge even though the sun is much more than a few kilometers away? – BioPhysicist Oct 20 '21 at 00:40
  • @BioPhysicist That's what I said. :-) – Not_Einstein Oct 20 '21 at 01:47
  • Would it not seem even more strange if there were rays of light in the picture that did not seem to emanate from the Sun? If not from the Sun, then where would you expect them to come from? – Solomon Slow Oct 20 '21 at 01:48
  • @Not_Einstein Mine was an automated comment when I left a vote to close as a duplicate. – BioPhysicist Oct 20 '21 at 01:49
  • @danilo I think this is still a duplicate. Look at the image in the other post, particularly at the ray on the left edge (straight down) and the ray on the right edge (at an angle). – BioPhysicist Oct 20 '21 at 10:33
  • I'm sorry y'all, I'm not used to the layout of this site and I hadn't even noticed yours responses here. Anyways, yeah @BioPhysicist, now you said it i notice the same is happening in that picture. But is there an explanation to that which I'm missing out? Like, the answers there were about how this happens with train tracks. But to that happen, wouldn't the sun rays have to be directed towards me, instead of to the ground? – danilo Oct 20 '21 at 10:46
  • @Solomon slow I'm talking about the angle of the rays. Of course they're coming from the sun, but their angle suggests that the sun is much closer than it actually is. I was asking for why does it seem so, even when the rays are not directed to us, since when they are directed to us, that train track/long road effect happens – danilo Oct 20 '21 at 10:49
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_point – Solomon Slow Oct 20 '21 at 12:02
  • The explanation given on the other answer involves the rays being especifically pointed at you: "The same applies to the beams of light above them. The Sun is very far away and the beams are pretty much parallel, but they're pointing towards you...". What about the ones which aren't pointed towards me but still don't look parallel? – danilo Oct 20 '21 at 12:03
  • So you get it about both crepuscular and anticrepuscular rays? – Cosmas Zachos Oct 20 '21 at 16:20
  • Yeah, I just can't understand how some of them are not pointing towards me and still seem not parallel – danilo Oct 21 '21 at 20:06

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