Atmospheric - Halos
Solar Halo and High Sun Parhelia
A scene with a fairly high-altitude Sun and prominent and colourful sundogs (parhelia) flanking the Sun and well outside the 22° halo which is only faintly visiible. Sundogs are always well outside the 22° halo when the Sun is higher in the sky — the Sun's altitude at this time at 4 pm MDT on April 25, 2022 was 41°. Also visible is the parhelic circle running horizontally through the sundogs, and at top the upper tangent arc or perhaps it is a segment of the circumscribed halo. This is a single shot with the 15-35mm RF lens at 15mm on the Canon R6.
Lunar Halo Complex on Good Friday (with Labels)
A complex of halo phenomena on the evening of April 15, 2022, Good Friday of the 2022 Easter weekend, around the almost Full Moon. Ice crystals in the high cloud created the halos and arcs, set in the spring night sky, with the Big Dipper at top, Arcturus to the left, and Regulus and Leo at right. The colours of the arcs and sundogs were just visible to the unaided eye. Visible are: — The 22° halo — A large partial halo that looks like a 46° halo but is actually a supralateral arc. — A pair of paraselene (called parhelia when they are around the Sun) or colourful "moondogs" sit on either side of the Moon just outside the 22° halo. — The top of the 22° halo has a colourful upper tangent arc plus a faint Parry arc. — Tangent to the supralateral arc is a rainbow-hued circumzenithal arc. — A paraselenic circle (called a parhelic circle when it is created by the Sun) runs parallel to the horizon through the moondogs and Moon. — A faint and wide vertical light pillar also runs through the Moon up to the top arcs. This is a blend of 7 exposures from 30 seconds to 1/20 seconds to help retain the disk of the Moon amid the bright and hazy sky. All with the 11mm TTArtisan full-frame fish-eye lens at f/4 and Canon R6 at ISO 100. Exposures blended with luminosity masks created with ADP Pro v3.
Lunar Halo Complex on Good Friday
A complex of halo phenomena on the evening of April 15, 2022, Good Friday of the 2022 Easter weekend, around the almost Full Moon. Ice crystals in the high cloud created the halos and arcs, set in the spring night sky, with the Big Dipper at top, Arcturus to the left, and Regulus and Leo at right. The colours of the arcs and sundogs were just visible to the unaided eye. Visible are: — The 22° halo — A large partial halo that looks like a 46° halo but is actually a supralateral arc. — A pair of paraselene (called parhelia when they are around the Sun) or colourful "moondogs" sit on either side of the Moon just outside the 22° halo. — The top of the 22° halo has a colourful upper tangent arc plus a faint Parry arc. — Tangent to the supralateral arc is a rainbow-hued circumzenithal arc. — A paraselenic (?) circle (called a parhelic circle when it is created by the Sun) runs parallel to the horizon through the moondogs and Moon. — A faint and wide vertical light pillar also runs through the Moon up to the top arcs. This is a blend of 7 exposures from 30 seconds to 1/20 seconds to help retain the disk of the Moon amid the bright and hazy sky. All with the 11mm TTArtisan full-frame fish-eye lens at f/4 and Canon R6 at ISO 100. Exposures blended with luminosity masks created with ADP Pro v3.
A complex of halo phenomena on the evening of April 15, 2022, Good Friday of the 2022 Easter weekend, around the almost Full Moon. Ice crystals in the high cloud created the halos and arcs, set in the spring night sky, with the Big Dipper at top, Arcturus to the left, and Regulus and Leo at right of centre. The colours of the arcs and sundogs were just visible to the unaided eye. Visible are: — The main and common 22° halo. — A large partial halo that looks like a 46° halo but is actually a supralateral arc. — A pair of paraselene (called parhelia when they are around the Sun) or colourful "moondogs" sit on either side of the Moon just outside the 22° halo. — The top of the 22° halo has a colourful upper tangent arc plus a faint Parry arc. — Tangent to the supralateral arc is a rainbow-hued circumzenithal arc. — A paraselenic (?) circle (called a parhelic circle when it is created by the Sun) runs parallel to the horizon through the moondogs and Moon. — Far to the west is a rare 120° paraselene, another moondog. Had their been more haze to the east there would have been another 120° paraselene to the left for a more symmetrical display. This is a stitch of 7 exposures all 30 seconds with the 11mm TTArtisan full-frame fish-eye lens at f/4 and Canon R6 at ISO 100. Segments stitched with PTGui with full-frame fisheye projection.
Lunar Halo Complex Panorama (with Labels)
A complex of halo phenomena on the evening of April 15, 2022, Good Friday of the 2022 Easter weekend, around the almost Full Moon. Ice crystals in the high cloud created the halos and arcs, set in the spring night sky, with the Big Dipper at top, Arcturus to the left, and Regulus and Leo at right of centre. The colours of the arcs and sundogs were just visible to the unaided eye. Visible are: — The main and common 22° halo. — A large partial halo that looks like a 46° halo but is actually a supralateral arc. — A pair of paraselene (called parhelia when they are around the Sun) or colourful "moondogs" sit on either side of the Moon just outside the 22° halo. — The top of the 22° halo has a colourful upper tangent arc plus a faint Parry arc. — Tangent to the supralateral arc is a rainbow-hued circumzenithal arc. — A paraselenic (?) circle (called a parhelic circle when it is created by the Sun) runs parallel to the horizon through the moondogs and Moon. — Far to the west is a rare 120° paraselene, another moondog. Had their been more haze to the east there would have been another 120° paraselene to the left for a more symmetrical display. This is a stitch of 7 exposures all 30 seconds with the 11mm TTArtisan full-frame fish-eye lens at f/4 and Canon R6 at ISO 100. Segments stitched with PTGui with full-frame fisheye projection.
Light Pillar and Aurora Panorama
An unusual combination of an ice crystal light pillar, at left, with an aurora across the north with green, red and magenta curtains, April 1, 2022, from home in Alberta. This is a panorama of 5 segments with the TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2 and Canon ROS R6 at ISO 1600 for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Photoshop and straightened with the Adaptive Wide Angle filter.
A mild display of light pillars from ice crystal clouds reflecting lights below. Taken from home March 31, 2022 on what looked like a fairly clear night and not cold. But the white pillar at left was obvious to the eye. A single shot with the Canon R6 and TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2. An aurora was active this night to the left in the north.
A faint lunar halo in high clouds on October 21, 2021. The Moon was a day past Ful, A single image with the 15-35mm RF lens at 15mm.,
Moondogs Around the Waxing Moon
A display of moondogs (technically known as paraselenae) on either side of the waxing crescent Moon with a lunar halo and upper tangent arc, all caused by ice crystals in the thin clouds moving in this night. This is a stack of 5 exposures, all 30 seconds at f/5.6 with the 20mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 1000, taken from home.
A display of moondogs (technically known as paraselenae) on either side of the waxing crescent Moon with a lunar halo and upper tangent arc, all caused by ice crystals in the thin clouds moving in this night. As a bonus, the Space Station (ISS) appeared for a brief time rising out of the southeast but quickly disappearing into the Earth’s shadow as it approached the Moon. This is a stack of 3 exposures, all 20 seconds at f/2.8 with the 20mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 400, taken off the back deck from home.
A single bright moondog to the left of the waning gibbous Moon, located on a 22° ice crystal halo around the Moon, but only a partial one visible only where the clouds are.. This was November 4, 2020. The Moon was in Taurus.
Solar Halo over the Churchill Rocket Range
A display of sundogs and a 22° halo around the Sun, with a lower tangent arc visible at the bottom of the halo, an effect visible only when the Sun is high enough in the sky, as it is here around spring equinox. This is from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre and is overlooking the old Rocket Range.
Glory Effect Around Aircraft Shadow
The Glory diffraction effect around the shadow of the Dash 8 aircraft on the flight from Calgary to Abbotsford at Christmas 2019. The Sun is reflected in the engine cowling, so you see both the source of the light (indirectly) and the shadow cast by the light, and the Glory effect around the shadow opposite the Sun. Shot with the iPhone 8.
A rare sight from home in rural Alberta — a sky filled with light pillars, an atmospheric phenomenon caused by flat ice crystals in the still air, reflecting the lights below, in this case from farms and gas plants, and from towns in the distance. I had never seen these from home before; they are more common within cities with the greater abundance of lights. The effect was short-lived. It was fading out even 15 minutes after I took this. There was just enough icy haze or fog (it had snowed earlier in the day so the air was moist) to produce the light pillars but not so much as to obscure the stars. The Big Dipper is at left; Polaris is at top left; Auriga, Taurus and the Pleiades are rising at right. The red foreground is from lights on my deck. This is a 4-section panorama with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 3200 for 20 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
A 22° solar halo with sundogs and an upper tangent arc, on a day with the air filled with tiny ice crystals, some of which appear like stars and out of focus spots in the sky here.
A halo around the nearly Full Moon (two days past full) over the Barent’s Sea in northern Norway at a latitude of 71° North on November 5, 2017 from the cruise/ferry ship m/s Nordlys. The Moon is in Taurus — Orion is rising at left, Auriga is at top, with Gemini to the right.
An ice crystal halo around the waxing gibbous Moon, March 7, 2017, with the Moon below the twins stars of Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Orion is at lower right, Auriga at upper right, Leo at left. Sirius is the bright star above the trees. This is a stack of four exposures (10 second, 1 second, 1 second, 1/15 second, and 1/125 second) to preserve the sky and bright Moon, layered and blended with luminosity masks applied with ADP Panel Pro. Shot with the 12mm Rokinon fish-eye lens at f/2.8 and Nikon D750 at ISO 800.
An ice crystal halo around the Full Moon on solstice eve, June 19, 2016, from Driftwood Beach at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. Mars is the bright object at far right, Saturn is just right of the Moon. The iconic Prince of Wales Hotel is below Mars. This is a 3 panel vertical panorama, each panel with the 20mm Sigma lens at f/4 for 5 seconds at ISO 800. Stitched in ACR.
Lunar halo in a hazy sky at Red Rock Canyon, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, with the Full Moon over Mt. Blakiston. This is a high-dynamic range stack of 6 exposures, to avoid the area around the Moon from blowing out too much while recorded detail in the dark foreground. All with the 20mm lens and Nikon D750.
Solar Halo over Natural Bridge, Yoho (v2)
A vertical panorama of a 22° solar halo in the sky over the Natural Bridge and waterfall on the Kicking Horse River in Yoho National Park, BC, June 6, 2016. The day was quite hot but this shows that you can get haloes even on a hot summer day, as the ice crystal clouds causing the halo are high up and cold! The Natural Bridge itself is in the foreground. This is a 4-section panorama taken with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens mounted in landscape mode, and moved vertically to sweep up the scene. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Solar Halo over Churchill Rocket Range
A display of ice crystal haloes over the Churchill Rocket Range, Feb. 9, 2016. The Sun is surrounded by the main 22° halo with extended and colourful sundogs or parhelia on either side of the Sun. The top of the 22° halo is adorned by the upper tangent arc. A fainter outer 46° halo is also visible with a dim circumzenithal arc at its upper point. A faint circumhorizontal arc also extends through the Sun and sundogs parallel to the horizon. The display is caused by nearby ice crystals which are visible as starlike points in the sky. See http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/unusual.htm The scene is the old abandoned Churchill Rocket Range, near Churchill, Manitoba. This is a 5-exposure handheld stack of exposures for a high dynamic range composite, merged with Adobe Camera Raw. The lens was the 15mm full-frame fish-eye on the Canon 6D.
A classic 22° ice crystal halo around the waning crescent Moon, here overexposed, with the Moon between Jupiter and Mars in the morning sky on December 5, 2015. Seeing a halo around a crescent Moon is somewhat rare as they usually require the brighter light of the Full Moon. Venus is the brightest object at bottom closest to the horizon. The three planets, along with the stars Spica (above Venus) and Regulus (at top of frame) define the line of the ecliptic here in the dawn late autumn / early winter sky. I captured this scene from southeast Arizona near the Arizona Sky Village at Portal. This is a stack of 4 exposures from long to short (8s to 1/2s) to encompass the great range in brightness and not overexpose the crescent Moon too much. Images were layered in Photoshop and masked with luminosity masks. Automatic HDR techniques did not work well as the shortest image was too dark for ACR to find content to register in Merge ot HDR, and in Photoshop the HDR Pro module left visible edge artifacts. The camera was on the iOptron Sky Tracker to follow the sky and register the sky for all the exposures, thus the slightly blurred ground. Taken with the Canon 6D and 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens.
Lunar Halo and the Ecliptic (with Labels)
A classic 22° ice crystal halo around the waning crescent Moon, here overexposed, with the Moon between Jupiter and Mars in the morning sky on December 5, 2015. Seeing a halo around a crescent Moon is somewhat rare as they usually require the brighter light of the Full Moon. Venus is the brightest object at bottom closest to the horizon. The three planets, along with the stars Spica (above Venus) and Regulus (at top of frame) define the line of the ecliptic here in the dawn late autumn / early winter sky. I captured this scene from southeast Arizona near the Arizona Sky Village at Portal. This is a stack of 4 exposures from long to short (8s to 1/2s) to encompass the great range in brightness and not overexpose the crescent Moon too much. Images were layered in Photoshop and masked with luminosity masks. Automatic HDR techniques did not work well as the shortest image was too dark for ACR to find content to register in Merge ot HDR, and in Photoshop the HDR Pro module left visible edge artifacts. The camera was on the iOptron Sky Tracker to follow the sky and register the sky for all the exposures, thus the slightly blurred ground. Taken with the Canon 6D and 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens.
A lunar corona created by diffraction effects from ice crystals or water droplets in thin, low, fast-moving clouds, on a cold winter night, after a snowstorm with the skies clearing. See http://www.atoptics.co.uk/droplets/cormoon.htm for details of the phenomenon. This is an HDR stack of 7 exposures, from 0.4 to 6 seconds, plus an added 1/50 sec shot for the lunar disk. Shot from home with the 135mm telephoto at f/8 and Canon 6D at ISO 100.