Atmospheric - Halos
Lunar Haloes in the Winter Sky
An ice crystal halo around the waxing gibbous Moon set in the winter stars of a January night. The 22° halo is most obvious and with a reddish and sharply defined inner rim and a bluish and more diffuse outer edge. But a faint 8° halo is also visible, a rare halo sometimes called the Van Buijsen Halo (according to Lynch and Livingston in their book Color and Light in Nature; Minnaert also mentions it in his seminal book The Nature of Color and Light in the Open Air). It is not a lens flare as shots taken with the Moon well off to one side of the frame still show the inner halo centred on the Moon. Nor is it an artifact of the exposure blending as it is present on the raw single long-exposure image. The Moon was in Taurus this night and very close to Mars, shining here just above the Moon. An occultation occured for locatons in the southern U.S. and Mexico this night, but for me in Alberta it was a very close conjunction. Orion is at lower left; Gemini at upper left; Auriga above the Moon; and Perseus is at upper right. To retain the disk of the Moon and better capture the scene as the eye saw it, this is a blend of 7 untracked exposures, from 20 seconds to 1/200 second with the RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and f/4 and Canon R5 at ISO 400. Blended with luminosity masks.
An ice crystal halo around the waxing gibbous Moon set in the winter stars of a January night. The 22° halo is most obvious and with a reddish and sharper inner rim., and a bluish and more diffuse outer edge. But a faint inner 8° halo is also visible, a rare halo sometimes called the Van Buijsen Halo (according to Lynch and Livingston in their book Color and Light in Nature; Minnaert also mentions it in his seminal book The Nature of Color and Light in the Open Air). It is not a lens flare as shots taken with the Moon well off to one side of the frame still show the inner halo centred on the Moon. Nor is it an artifact of the exposure blending as it is present on the raw single long-exposure image. The Moon was in Taurus this night and very close to Mars, shining here as the red point of light just above the Moon. An occultation occured for locatons in the southern U.S. and Mexico this night, but for me in Alberta it was a very close conjunction. Orion is at lower left; Auriga is above the Moon; and Perseus is at upper right. To retain the disk of the Moon and better capture the scene as the eye saw it, this is a blend of 8 untracked exposures, from 30 seconds to 1/250 second with the RF15-35mm lens at 22mm and f/4 and Canon R5 at ISO 400. Being untracked exposures, the stars are trailed somewhat. Frames manually aligned then blended with luminosity masks created with Lumenzia. A mild glow effect was added with Radiant Photo plug-in.
This is the waxing gibbous Moon (11.7 days old) near reddish Mars (at upper right), both set in a swirl of clouds, looking like they are in an interstellar nebula. Diffraction from ice crystals in the clouds adds the colourful corona around the Moon. This was the Moon-Mars conjunction of January 3, 2023. Mars was then about a month past opposition. This is a blend of 6 exposures, from 5 seconds to 1/200th second, to compress the high dynamic range in brightness and recreate the view more as the eye saw it. Exposures blended with luminosity masks. All were with the Canon RF100-400mm lens at 300mm and f/8, and on the Canon R5 at ISO 400. The camera was on a tracking mount to prevent the stars from trailing. Diffraction spikes on Mars added for artistic effect with AstronomyTools Actions. A mild Orton Glow added with Luminar Neo.
Moon, Mars and the Hyades in Clouds
This is the waxing gibbous Moon (11.7 days old) near reddish Mars (above the Moon), and with reddish Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster below. All are set in a swirl of clouds, looking like they are in an interstellar nebula. Diffraction from ice crystals in the clouds adds the colourful corona around the Moon. This was the Moon-Mars conjunction of January 3, 2023. Mars was then about a month past opposition. This is a blend of 8 exposures, from 8 seconds to 1/500th second, to compress the high dynamic range in brightness and recreate the view more as the eye saw it. Exposures blended with luminosity masks created with Lumenzia. All frames were with the Canon RF100-400mm lens at 100mm and f/5.6, and on the Canon R5 at ISO 400. The camera was on a tracking mount to prevent the stars from trailing. Diffraction spikes added for artistic effect with AstronomyTools Actions. A mild Orton Glow added with Nik Collection/Color EFX.
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.