It's a nice image, and clearly shows the same thing as the APOD. But there were a number of other similar images posted during the earlier discussion; I think the question was settled to most people's satisfaction quite a while back, that the image obviously captured sunlit virga.Drabkikker wrote:I think this new entry at atoptics.co.uk settles the discussion for good.
On a recent flight out of Denver, with the plane heading east at sunset, I saw exactly the same effect- it almost could have been the APOD itself- with rain virga lit by the red, setting sun, and shadow structure caused by areas where the sunlight was blocked by the mountain peaks to the west, or by clouds above the mountains (basically, by crepuscular shadow rays).