Perspective (graphical) on the horizon line. All lines parallel with the viewer's line of sight recede to the horizon towards this vanishing point. This is the standard "receding railroad tracks" phenomenon. A two-point drawing would have lines parallel to two different angles. Any number of vanishing points are possible in a drawing, one for each set of parallel lines that are at an angle relative to the plane of the drawing. Perspectives consisting of many parallel lines are observed most often when drawing architecture (architecture frequently uses lines parallel to the x, y, and z axes). Because it is rare to have
Radiant (meteor shower) seen from the perspective of the observer, who views a two-dimensional projection against the sky. The geometric effect is identical to crepuscular rays, where parallel sunbeams appear to converge. A meteor that does not point back to the known radiant for a given shower is known as a "sporadic" and is not considered part of that shower. Shower meteors may appear a short time before the radiant has risen in observer's eastern sky. The radiant in such cases is above the horizon at the meteor's altitude. During the active period of most showers, the radiant moves nearly one degree eastwards,