by Qev » Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:14 am
I have my doubts that the image is doctored, personally. The Sun angle is pretty low in this image, lower than the shadows cast by objects on the ground seem to indicate.
The Sun is behind the photographer on their left side, so most of the shadows will be pointing away from their position, making them appear much shorter in length than they actually are (which creates the appearance of a higher Sun).
Also, consider how much of the tornado is illuminated by the Sun; the Sun needs to be low enough to light almost the entire height of the tornado, despite the presense of the wall cloud and mesocyclone which would shade it from any high-angle sunlight.
APoD seems a fairly credible bunch, also. Not that something couldn't slip through, I daresay.
But I think this picture is probably legit.
I have my doubts that the image is doctored, personally. The Sun angle is pretty low in this image, lower than the shadows cast by objects on the ground seem to indicate.
The Sun is behind the photographer on their left side, so most of the shadows will be pointing away from their position, making them appear much shorter in length than they actually are (which creates the appearance of a higher Sun).
Also, consider how much of the tornado is illuminated by the Sun; the Sun needs to be low enough to light almost the entire height of the tornado, despite the presense of the wall cloud and mesocyclone which would shade it from any high-angle sunlight.
APoD seems a fairly credible bunch, also. Not that something couldn't slip through, I daresay. :) But I think this picture is probably legit.