Sky Art Above Norfolk, Virginia
April 03, 2024
Photographer: John Adam
Summary Authors: John Adam, Jim Foster
I first noticed this breathtaking halo display while exiting the Chrysler Art Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, hence the title of this picture. Featured is a 22 degree halo, as well as a circumscribed halo (tangential to the inner 22-degree halo), a portion of a parhelic circle, and two sun dogs.
All were formed by sunlight passing through six-sided ice crystals found in cirrus type clouds. But because not all of the crystals had similar shapes (some were plate-shaped, some pencil-shaped) or were similarly aligned throughout these faint clouds, different halos and arcs were observed. Note that the circumscribed halo forms when crystals spin as they fall; it also changes shape as the Sun moves higher (or lower) in the sky. Also noteworthy is the suncave Parry Arc at the very top of the halo. Photo taken on February 18, 2024.
Norfolk, Virginia Coordinates: 36.8508, -76.2859
Related Links:
Circumscribed Halo Above Curitiba, Brazil
More About Atmospheric Halos