3011 03 08 Halo and Sundogs
To my surprise, the skies cleared up enough for me to have a few hours under the Sun with my telescope. It wasn’t meant to be that clear. Even so, the transparency was fairly obnoxious but seeing wasn’t too bad with only a few moments of boiling.
I took a little break from the eyepiece to grab a drink. Thin clouds were making their way across the sky and halos and sundogs were popping in and out of view.
Water droplets in the air and clouds form these beautiful displays when light hits them. Les Cowley of Atmospheric Optics describes them best.
Water Droplets , 22° halo, sundogs
20110308 22 degree halo
20110308, 22 degree halo
20110308 partial halo and hint of a sundog
20110308 sundog to the left of the Sun
PCW Memorial Observatory - Erika Rix 