GLORIES OR HALOS are produced by the refraction of sunlight passing through ice crystals high in our atmosphere.
HALO AND SUN DOGS are produced in cirrostratus clouds. The chimney on the
house has blocked the intense rays of the sun so that the subtle halo and brighter sun
dogs on either side of the chimney can be seen. The sundogs representing a
brightening as a result of the intersection of another halo that passes through
the sundogs and the sun.
CIRCUMZENITH ARC - This halo, shown as a faint concave upward arc at the
top of the picture, is not as common as the above image, but is not considered rare. It is typically fainter but if you know where
it is located, it is surprisingly easy to find.
A SUN DOG develops at the intersection of two halos.
GLORIES FROM JANUARY 12, 2003
These images were obtained from the Tempe Diablo Stadium on Sunday, January 12, 2003 during the Arizona Rock Fest. For those people who happened to look up, they were rewarded with these splendid examples of halos and sundogs.
SUNDOGS and HALO above one of the tents at Rock Fest. This
is a composite of two photos.
A CIRCUMZENITH ARC high above the tent. This is a composite of
three photos. As the name implies, this arc circles the zenith (the point
in the sky directly above you.)
These are the same circumzenith arc. The second picture was enhance to
bring out the color as well as show the faint cirrostratus clouds that were in
the sky. This arc is the same one that appears above the tent in the image
above.