Belt of Venus (Earth’s shadow) rising above the Sutherland Observatory

Featured behind the domes of the South African Astronomical Observatory in Sutherland is the blueish wedge-shaped shadow of the Earth, bounded above by the pinkish anti-twilight arch, known as the Belt of Venus. The observing plateau of the Sutherland Observatory, with its 360-degree horizons, and raised above the surrounding landscape, is ideal for observing this phenomena, particularly the Earth’s shadow itself. This footage was filmed over three evenings near the equinox. Wikipedia describes the Belt of Venus or Venus’s Girdle is an atmospheric phenomenon seen at sunrise and sunset, visible along the anti-sunward horizon. Shortly after sunset or shortly before sunrise, the observer is surrounded by a pinkish glow that extends roughly 10°–20° above the horizon. The arch’s light-pink color is due to backscattering of reddened light from the rising or setting Sun. Often, this glow is separated from the horizon by a dark layer, the Earth’s shadow or so-called “dark segment.“