NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 20, 2026, presented an image titled "An Anticrepuscular Rainbow Fan." According to the accompanying explanation, the rainbow appears incomplete, forming only a sunlit fan, which is not especially rare. The greater oddity is the apparent position of the Sun, which seems to sit toward the front just below hills, which is not how rainbows work.

Rainbows arise from a backward reflection off falling rain, so the Sun must actually be behind the viewer. In this case, the explanation states that gaps between clouds near the setting Sun let rays cross the whole sky and seem to converge in front, a phenomenon called anticrepuscular rays. The photo was taken with a phone the previous week at sunset in Presenzano, Italy, and the rainbow-like effect was noticed while hanging up laundry.