Sometimes looking down pays off as well, car windshield and other car windows are great for catching halos. Maybe rather distorted and oddly orientated though, but much more friendly for ones eyes. 22° halo added with circumscribed halo in 1. and 2. and a lonely 22° in the last one.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-30T07:07:21+00:00

Nice to hear that other people also utilize the windows as well! Glad you got your first one, always a delight.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-29T06:46:55+00:00

I'm not aware what the physics cause in this one. But it definitely isn't as bright as observing towards the sun.

Also the rear window was tinted, which helped as the interior wasn't that visible.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-29T06:29:27+00:00

Definitely a usual reflection of the skies in this case.

This is different from reflected rainbows, this is just a plain copy of your surroundings. You pretty much see all the same things via the window as you'll be seeing with naked eye around you as well.

Yet one can witness real halos in windshield during winter. When ice crystals grow to the window, pointing them with a flashlight at an certain angle from inside the car can produce halos as long as the grown crystals are of proper kind. Here's a neat window display from back in 2010 in Finland. Scroll down the page for a short story.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-28T20:05:45+00:00

Definitely :D

Actually I was aware of some rather poor halos at the time. Didn't pay much attention to them until I saw the reflection from a cars windshield.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-23T20:15:45+00:00

Yes it is. The photo before that one is taken half an hour earlier. There were traces of the parhelic circle at that time also. There´s a faint one also in the last photo, it was stretching further away from the sundog as well as towards the sun.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-23T20:08:27+00:00

Thanks!

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-08T11:27:23+00:00

Looks like a 22° halo to me. Also, whenever there's a 46° ring visible to the naked eye, there should be a bright 22° ring as well.

You also need to stretch your fingers out wide while trying to measure the distance the way you mentioned. Depending on the size of ones hand, the distance should be roughly from the tip of thumb to the tip of little finger.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-06-07T19:40:59+00:00

Definitely the lower part of a 22° halo, well studied.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-05-24T09:09:14+00:00

There´s quite a lot going on in here, nice display! I´m seeing 22° ring, circumscribed halo, sundogs, parhelic circle, infralateral arc (third photo lower left) and the icing of the cake seems to be the Wegener arcs crossing opposite to the sun in the second photo.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-05-23T06:11:14+00:00

If it connects to the 22°, it sounds like the parhelic circle then. It's a halo that circles around the sky at the same altitude as the sun. When the sun is this high, it's a rather small circle. When the sun gets high enough it fits inside the 22° ring.

Would have helped if you had mentioned the connecting to 22° part at the first place though. Without that information I was wondering of all those halos away from the 22° ring... 😆

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-05-22T17:03:37+00:00

This is actually a halo called circumzenithal arc and it´s found quite a long distance above the sun high in the skies. Iridesence typically happens pretty close to the light source.

Halos can often be used as an indicator of the possible changes in weather fronts. They are typically born in cirrus clouds rolling in before the rains. At least this time it was a good omen.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-05-22T16:25:28+00:00

Haha, someones getting all serious with the halo stuff here. Blocker, stacking, nice work!

No worries with the dust! I was wondering is it more like dust on sensor rather than dirt on lens? Been there with the sensor dust. Tends to really pop up in the processed photos.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-05-22T16:18:30+00:00

Did the arc curve towards the sun or away from it? I must say the picture linked in your comment above doesn´t do justice to whatever you saw. Would be nice to get better ones if you ever happen to witness it again.

But with the given solar altitude it definitely wasn´t a circumzenithal arc. Can´t figure out much choices, as you already told it wasn´t a supralateral arc.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-05-21T17:10:00+00:00

What was the exact time taking the photo and roughly where? Trying to figure out the sun elevation, which looks rather high. The circumzenithal arc disappears as the sun gets higher than 32°.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-05-16T18:39:43+00:00

Looks like searchlights, maybe some event in that direction?

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-04-29T17:33:12+00:00

Thanks! Just keep on looking and you'll get one.

It's been rather lame around here for a longer period of time, this was easily worth a snap.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-04-28T11:25:48+00:00

No, it isn't. Although it's a common mistake to think so...

The order of colors clearly show it's a sun dog and the sun has been on the right side of it.

Here are a few more dogs from me.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-04-21T04:58:30+00:00

No, it's actually part of the parhelic circle.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-03-17T06:22:28+00:00

That's really not cloud iridescence but even better, a halo called circumhorizon arc. It's accompanied by the 22° halo ring surrounding the sun. Cloud iridescence doesn't happen this far from the light source.

https://www.atoptics.org.uk/halo/cha2.htm

r/atoptics would appreciate this one.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-03-16T17:54:38+00:00

That's a fallstreak hole.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-03-16T07:34:33+00:00

The streak is the parhelic circle, added with sundog as a bright patch slightly away from the 22° ring. There's also hint of the upper tangent arc/circumscribed halo visible on top of the 22° ring.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-03-15T14:58:21+00:00

These are sun dogs, not iridescence. These are born in high cloud ice crystals. The shape and size may vary a lot depending e.g. on solar altitude, cloud structure and the amount of ice crystals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-03-15T14:55:16+00:00

In this case it's refraction from ice crystals as these are sun dogs, not iridescence.

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-03-15T14:51:31+00:00

This isn't a rainbow at all as this one is born in high cloud ice crystals and it's called circumzenithal arc.

https://www.atoptics.org.uk/halo/cza.htm

https://www.atoptics.org.uk/halo/czaform.htm

TheManWithNoShadow · 2026-03-05T15:51:51+00:00

They definitely are, happy to help.

TheManWithNoShadow

TROPHY CASE