The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Thursday, March 12, 2009

A hidden treasure

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Please visit Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy, the team for SKY WATCH FRIDAY (click the word to link and participate!) Thanks to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us! As I was looking through my archives since nothing is going on locally worth photographing, I stumbled upon this shot, and when I really looked at it, I noticed something I hadn't initially seen.A solar 22° halo with a glimpse of an upper tangent arc!!! Seriously, I had not noticed it before, since it was so faint, but what a treat it was to find it today.

The best tangent arcs wing outwards from where they touch the 22º halo directly above and below the sun. Their colours are bright yet delicate with red sunwards. On less favourable days they can be just local brightenings of the 22° halo.
~source

22º radius halos are visible all over the world and throughout the year. Look out for them (eye care!) whenever the sky is wisped or hazed with thin cirrus clouds. These clouds are cold and contain ice crystals in even the hottest climes.
~source
It might still be hard for you to see it... so here is the same image with the contrast and coloration edits, and you see it just pops out at you! What a treat for an otherwise, dismal weather day. Foggy mornings, hazy afternoons, warm temperatures, clear and sunny, that's a summary of my days lately. Meanwhile, snow and dropping temps not too far north, once record highs contending with now record lows, blizzard... yuck. I'll take my haze any day. I have plenty of archive to keep me occupied.

Have a lovely day!
~Dewdrop

44 comments:

  1. Cool! I am showing something from my archives today too. With our without the halo, I love the mood of this image.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the comments, Jen! I am glad to be part of such a great community. I love your halo capture. I have been trying to capture one for a while here in North Texas, but they don't happen often enough for me to notice them. ;) Plus, I've discovered that I really need to have a neutral density filter in order to capture it properly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. super photos....I love the light.

    Gill in Canada

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very special sky effects indeed.
    Beautifull picture(s).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful! You outdewn yourself with the last one! :)
    And keep a distance to them Tornado thingies!
    Cheers, Klaus

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is a dew-rific sky, good capture.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those are so pretty - that bright sun against the marbled blue sky looks really neat!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fantastic.

    I am always finding something new in my old photos.

    Hooray... Rain here.

    Come visit...
    Troy and Martha

    PS: I'll be back later and catch up.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful shots and as always I learn something when I come here. I just wish I was better at retaining it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ditto what Carver said -- I always love learning something when I come here! Neat photo, too. :) Happy SWF.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very interesting post and beautiful photos!!
    Take care and Happy SWF

    ReplyDelete
  12. It certainly was well visible in the second shot. And what neat clouds these are too. So powerful.
    I've not often seen these halos but one of these days perhaps I will capture one myself.

    ReplyDelete
  13. lovely shots

    My entry for SWF this week : in HERE. Hope you have time to visit . Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dew: That is very cool, I'm sure I would have missed it because I didn't know what it was. Thanks for sharing your sky knowledge.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Extraordinary photos, true artist.

    Have a great weekend!
    Guy
    Regina In Pictures

    ReplyDelete
  16. So soft and beautiful :) Thanks for sharing, and for the information :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wonderful shots ! ! !
    interestingly information which you give.
    Gr.
    P-TER

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fantastic shot really caught that one.

    ReplyDelete
  19. The sky will lift you up when everything else disappoints. Beautiful photo and thank you for another weather lesson. Happy SWF!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dew-rific...love that sun like that.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Dew. It looks to me like the clouds have been combed. Lovely pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Fantastic shots again!Really good pics like always!
    Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Excellent shot! and thanks for the info. I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. An absolutely beautiful sky and thank you for the info. The halos are always beautiful to see but it's also nice to know the how and why. Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend.
    Smiles

    ReplyDelete
  25. So beautiful! The halo around the sun is not that common to see! I have seen it twice in my lifetime, and I held my head up high! :)

    Wonderful shots - and you are lucky to have seen it!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Notice it. I wouldn't have known what on earth it was, apart from gorgeous. I'm slowly learning here each week.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wow, that is a fascinating phenomenon. I like the wispy clouds (cirrus?) a lot, too. Thanks so much for your comment on my Skywatch photo. Much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Truly exciting when you know what you are seeing!! Thanks for the info!!Very informative!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for sharing your find and giving the great explanation.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I saw my first ever halo this year and was amazed, great piccies.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Love the wispy clouds!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I am so glad to have join Skywatch I see lovely skies as this! Thanks for the output too!

    ReplyDelete
  33. `Hi Dew... or should I say Halo to you... Great capture.. great post.. great Gal;; ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  34. It's always a nice surprise to see a halo. These are great shots, thanks for sharing them.
    Have a good weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  35. That IS a treat! I love the upper arc.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Beautiful sky images and beautiful words - "tangent arcs wing outwards"! Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Stunning! And educational!! I really enjoyed looking at this photo - I love those trees.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Nice... isn't that neat when we find things in photos like that. Now I think I'm going to start looking in my 10,000 or so past photos for phenomenons such as these as well... gee, thanks! =)

    Hope your weekend is going well!
    Mountain Retreat Photos

    ReplyDelete
  39. I'm still not sure I know what I'm looking at...darn!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thanks so much for visiting and taking the time to comment. I appreciate all the positive feedback. Halos are one of my favorite occurences. They are rare here, and in this case, I didn't even know it was there at the time. Thank you for your kind words and compliments. Love all the dew-isms.

    Ken, neutral density filter??? hmm...

    Klaus, I dew not want to keep too much distance though...

    Welcome back Troy!!

    Carver and Mary, just keep stopping by, I repeat.

    fishing guy, carolyn and PJ, my pleasure!

    Sandy, love the way you describe things.

    Guy, Yes, He is!

    PJ, works for me, like a charm.

    Valkyrien, same... only twice.

    Babooshka, Awesome!

    Sara, yes, cirrus! :D

    Halo, Tom! You're so punny!

    Deborah, Sky description are sweet poetry.

    Michele, glad I could inspire you??? lol

    TSannie, stick with me...

    ReplyDelete

Dew comment, please...