Halo Complex Above Hanover, Germany
February 27, 2013
Photographer: Benjamin Knispel; Benjamin's Web site
Summary Author: Benjamin Knispel
As shown above, a grand halo display was observed over Hanover, Germany in the late morning of November 11, 2012. The thin cirrus overcast, composed of hexagonal plate and columnar ice crystals, produced a number of colorful arcs and circles all across the sky. This complex included
- the 22 degree halo (circle around the Sun),
- both 22 degree parhelia or sundogs (seen at the same solar altitude as that of the Sun),
- a portion of the parhelic circle (seen as long, colorless tails on the sundogs),
- the upper tangent arc and the Parry arc (at the top and just above the 22 degree halo),
- the 46 degree halo/supralateral arc (large but faint arc higher up in the sky than the Parry arc) and
- the bright circumzenithal arc (top-most arc tangent to the supralateral arc).
Click here to view a time-lapse movie of this display. Always use extreme caution when looking in the vicinity of the Sun.
Photo details: Camera Model: Canon EOS 7D; Lens: Tokina 11-16mm; Focal Length: 11.0mm; Aperture: f/4.0; Exposure Time: 0.0004 s (1/2500); ISO equiv: 100; Software: Aperture 3.4.2. Image contrast and color saturation slightly enhanced, exposure corrected, sharpened.