A Light in the Sky

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the whole rainbow cannot be seen because there aren’t enough cirrus clouds present for a full ‘canvas’, yet when you get lucky enough to see a whole one, the sky is transformed into something out of fairytales (12). Ed Johnson captured this (12a) photo of a small fire rainbow on June 8, 2003 on Mount Baden-Powell, California- while the next image (12b) shows a sky full of color with the photo taken from another aircraft in Pilesgrove, New Jersey in July 22, 2007. Fire Rainbows, although rare, are one of the most spectacular weather phenomena to experience, in my opinion.

In conclusion, now that we know what is happening behind the scenes of some of the most spectacular light shows in the world, we can really appreciate the beauty hidden in the depths (or rather… heights) of the world which we live in. The Northern Lights are really just excited electron and gasses in the atmosphere, and both 22 degree halos and circumhorizontal arcs are simply light being refracted through ice crystals in cirrus clouds resulting in the halo light around the moon or sun, and sky-wide rainbows. No doubt about it, weather is phenomenal, and can create some of the most majestic scenes available to the human eye.

Reference Page

1. "Aurora." Aurora | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/aurora

2. "Northern Lights." Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html

3. @HistoryTVAU. "First Recorded Sighting of Aurora | History Channel." History Channel. N.p., 2016. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. http://www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/first-recorded-sighting-of-aurora/

4. http://travelinnate.com/alaska-northern/

5. @weatherchannel. "What Are Sun Halos?" The Weather Channel. Chrissy Warrilow, 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. https://weather.com/news/news/sun-halos-florida-20140416

6. "Solar Halos, Sun Dogs, Sun Spokes, Rainbows - Crystalinks." Solar Halos, Sun Dogs, Sun Spokes, Rainbows - Crystalinks. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. http://www.crystalinks.com/sundogs.html

7. Zimmermann, Kim Annn. "Sundogs: Spots of Color Beside the Sun." Live Science. N.p., 18 Jan. 2013. Web. http://www.livescience.com/26402-sundogs.html

8. Vädersolstavlan painting 1535

9. https://www.google.com/search?q=sun+halo&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS681US681&hl=en-US&biw=507&bih=653&prmd=sinv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY6ffXs-XQAhWIebwKHXs5AwAQ_AUICCgC#hl=en-US&tbm=isch&q=sun+halo&chips=q:sun+halo,g_4:today&imgrc=pIUH5jftU6HGLM%3A

10. Clark, Brian. "Rare ’Fire Rainbow’ Over South Carolina Explained." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 20 Aug. 2015. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150820-fire-rainbow-circumhorizontal-arcs-clouds-weather-science/

11. Andrew, Elise. "Fire Rainbows And How They Form." IFLScience. N.p., 2016. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. http://www.iflscience.com/environment/fire-rainbows-and-how-they-form/

12. Kaushik. "Fire Rainbows: A Rare Cloud Phenomenon." Amusing Planet. N.p., 19 May 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/05/fire-rainbows-rare-cloud-phenomenon.html