BBC Sky at Night

Atmospheric optical phenomena

CAUTION When observing atmospheric optics, always block the Sun with your hand, a roof or a tree. NEVER look through a camera viewfinder pointed towards the Sun

Almost everybody has seen a rainbow, but far fewer people have seen any kind of atmospheric optics display, despite how frequently they occur. These haloes and arcs form when sunlight (or moonlight) is refracted through tiny hexagonal ice crystals in cirrus clouds, which are found at

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