4/1/2004: Unusual rainbow-cloud

Copyright and permission Andy Freed, this shot is a pretty rare phenomenon. Discussed on the Earth Sci Pic of the Day and on Mr. Freed's own site entry. It turns out this is "probably a portion of a circumhorizontal arc" which is "a halo phenomenon -- formed by ice crystals usually in cirrus type clouds" and "usually only observed during mid-day in the late spring and summer months (in the mid latitudes) when the Sun attains an elevation greater than about 58 degrees above the horizon."

Pretty cool.

Here's another site with a bunch of really unbelievable solar/atmospheric effects.

Here's the description of one of my favorites:

The Specter of the Brocken. Effect at the anti-solar point where my shadow was cast into the fog which itself backscattered a glory diffraction pattern. You can see my head, arms and legs in the shadow!

1) aka 'sun dog'
2) aka 'glory'

aka very shitty jpeg artifacting on that second pic.

PIE, I think I see the virgin mary in that pic!

Originally posted by jaguar
aka very shitty jpeg artifacting on that second pic.

Nope. It's the real deal -- backscattered light off of fog. The guy's image in the center is similar to anticrepuscular rays, tracing back from the source of light.

Google search for "Specter of the Brocken" to get a zillion other pics.

UT's pic really is a circumhorizontal arc.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.


- Pie

Looks like the genie escaping the bottle.:)

As to the first picture, we see these all the time in Louisiana. Doesn't change the fact that they're gorgeous, though.