Solar Halo over Ragusa, Italy

Photographer: Giovanni Passalacqua
Summary Authors: Giovanni Passalacqua: Jim Foster

I observed this attention-getting 22-degree solar halo from Ragusa, Italy just before noon on June 5, 2024. Atmospheric halos take shape when sunlight is refracted through randomly oriented ice crystals that compose cirrus clouds. Geometry of light refracting through the 6-sided, pencil-shaped crystals dictates that halos form within about 22-degrees of the solar disk. Always use extreme caution when looking near the Sun.

Photo Details: Canon EOS R camera; Canon 20 mm lens; f 16; 1/2000 second exposure; 100 ISO; single shot.

 

Ragusa, Sicily, Italy Coordinates: 36.933, 14.75

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