Belt of Venus....

Belt of Venus.

In the right viewing conditions, a pink (or orange or purple) band is visible in the twilight sky just above the dark blue band of the Earth's shadow. This pink band is called the "anti-twilight arch" or "Belt of Venus". The name "Belt of Venus" is not connected with the planet Venus; the Belt of Venus is part of Earth's upper atmosphere which is illuminated by the setting or rising sun. It is visible either after the sun ceases to be visible (at sunset) or before the sun becomes visible (at sunrise).[

Civil twilight

Morning civil twilight begins when the geometric center of the sun is 6° below the horizon (the point of civil dawn), and ends at sunrise. Evening civil twilight begins at sunset and ends when the center of the sun reaches 6° below the horizon (the point of civil dusk). In general, civil twilight is the point where artificial illumination is required to read outside.

I knew about civil twilight, but wasn't aware of the expression The Belt of Venus.
It's seen clearly here in this image taken up near Butser Hill earlier this morning.
The image was taken about 6 minutes before the Sun peeped above the horizon.

Heavy dew this morning, tripod and camera both "Wet" after about 5 minutes.
Beautiful sunrise accompanied by a flask of coffee.

Larger image...

j.