Of Cylinders and Axes

The other day I was flying back from Ithaca. The weather had been bad; for a while I didn't know if the plane would take off. When it finally did, I gave a sigh of relief, opened my book (like most people, I carry one when traveling) and started to read. About half an hour later, the sun was in my eyes, bothering me. I was about to pull down the window covering when I happened to look out.
The scene was literally breathtaking. I was eye-level with a sun that was setting blood-orange over a bank