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Circumzenithal arc over Surrey, England

Posted by in Today's Image | May 15, 2017

Circumzenithal arcs look like upside-down rainbows, but they’re caused by ice crystals, not rain. They’re sometimes seen with sundogs, and even full halos around the sun or moon.

Photo taken May 13, 2017 by Tony Bowman.

Tony Bowman in Surrey, England wrote on Sunday:

I captured this amazingly bright circumzenithal arc (aka: ‘upside down rainbow’) yesterday afternoon in the skies above Surrey, England. It was very bright and accompanied by a glorious sundog on one side, which was too bright for my phone to capture the colors.

Read more: Upside-down rainbow-like arcs

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.

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