#optical phenomenon

It occurs when sunlight reflects off flat, suspended ice crystals in the atmosphere, especially when the sun is low on the horizon at sunrise or sunset.

cloud iridescence in Flagstaff, Arizona - by amazing nature

I noticed this circumzenithal arc as I was leaving the house to photograph the sunset, so I took a few shots before hitting the road. I was surprised that there was no halo around the sun, or sun dogs on either side, because I see them much more often than circumzenithal arcs, and I've seen plenty of photos with all three optical phenomena. If you visit me instagram @MattMolloyPhoto you can see a second photo that includes the sun and "ground" for better location and orientation reference.

Yes, but can your rainbow do this? After the remnants of Hurricane Florence passed over Jersey Shore, New Jersey, USA last month, the Sun came out in one direction but something quite unusual appeared in the opposite direction: a hall of rainbows. Over the course of a next half hour, to the delight of the photographer and his daughter, vibrant supernumerary rainbows faded in and out, with at least five captured in this featured single shot.Supernumerary rainbows only form when falling water droplets are all nearly the same size and typically less than a millimeter across. Then, sunlight will not only reflect from inside the raindrops, but interfere, a wave phenomenon similar to ripples on a pond when a stone is thrown in. In fact, supernumerary rainbows can _only _be explained with waves, and their noted existence in the early 1800s was considered early evidence of light's wave nature.

"Aurora Queen" by Pekka Parviainen (TWAN)

Mirrored versions of the photo from my previous post. I also made a mirrored/kaleidoscopic video that you can see on my instagram @MattMolloyPhoto