Circumhorizon arc in western US

[Dr Mordrid]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=389689&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=

Rainbow that set the sky on fire

From BARRY WIGMORE, Daily Mail 10:58am 8th June 2006

In a breathtaking blaze of glory, Nature puts on one of its most spectacular sky shows.

Reds, oranges, blues and greens create a flaming rainbow that stretches above the clouds.

But this circumhorizon arc, as it is known, owes more to ice than fire. It occurs when sunlight passes through ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. It is one of 15 types of ice halos formed only when the most specific of factors dovetail precisely together.

This blanket of fire, covering hundreds of square miles, is the rarest phenomenon of them all. It was spotted in the US on the Washington-Idaho border around midday last Saturday.

Dr. Mordrid

[Jon P. Inghram]

I saw a circumzenithal arc once, was impressed by how bright and strong the colors were.

Check this site out for more on various atmospheric optical effects: http://www.atoptics.co.uk/

[Dr Mordrid]

We see them frequently in Michigan, though usually smaller than the one in my previous post.

Dr. Mordrid

[Claymonkey]

very very cool. Nature is still the supreme artist.

[az]

Yes she is. I love thunderstorms. Makes you feel really small and shows you the greatness of mother nature.

[GNEP]

So this is the name of the next Matrox GPU then?

[Rakido]

So this is the name of the next Matrox GPU then?

damn, was my first thought too ... guess i should go out more often