Travel Photo Friday - Optical Phenomenon

On a recent holiday, I was lying on a beach....looked up, and saw the view in the photo below. A stunning rainbow like circle around the sun. I'd never seen anything like it, so as soon as I got back I went online to see if I could find out what it was. It turns out it is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating coloured or white arcs and spots in the sky. They can also form around the moon, so keep your eyes peeled, and see if you can spot one!


In fact, if you've ever seen one let me know by leaving a comment below I'd love to hear if you've seen this amazing phenomenon. I welcome photographic contributions from any of my followers, so if you have a cool travel photo you would like to send, e-mail it to: travellightbulb@hotmail.co.uk - all I need is your name, and a little bit about where the photo was taken. You may see it on Travel Lightbulb in the near future! I look forward to your contributions!

Comments

  1. Anonymous8 July 2012 at 06:03

    Hi, Its a characteristic that the ice crystals bend the sun's rays 22.5 degrees, so if the conditions are just with just the right amount of dispersed ice crystals, or small snowflakes, you see the sun, and the halo. pretty cool!..I used to see this often in the Colorado mountains. Richard

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