Amazing sky photos: What are crepuscular rays?

A Weather & Radar user submitted a picture of crepuscular rays shining overhead this week, they are visually stunning but do you know what they are?

It is very simple, as the sun rises or sets each day rays of light shine through the sky. At times clear pillars of light appear.

These are crepuscular rays, sometimes called God rays, and appear as sunlight shines through or over clouds catching dust and smoke particles which make the beams more visible.

In addition to this phenomena, there are also anti-crepuscular rays. These rays converge toward an anti-solar point away from the sun.

These are dimmer than their regular counterpart, and you can see them by looking in the opposite direction of the sun.

Just like crepuscular rays these are more visible at sunrise or sunset as the sun passes the horizon.

If you see either of these solar illusions, be sure to snap a shot and send it our way via the image uploader!