Tuesday, June 28, 2011

On the road: ring around the sun

ring around the sun.jpg
For several hours on Sunday over Eugene Oregon, this halo surrounded the sun. It exceeded my photographic skills to capture the entire ring, so I shaded out the light from under a tree and caught this half.

Apparently the phenomenon occurs when tiny hexagonal ice crystals hang in the air at over 30000 feet, reflecting the sun's light in this pattern. Some people claim it means impending rain, but that has not played out here.

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