Tag: parahelia

Spring comes in a blaze of glory

It’s the first day of Piuraagiaqta today.  It’s Barrow’s Spring Festival.  I was sort of stuck in the office working, but it was a gorgeous sunny day, with ice crystals hanging in the air.   I looked up during the afternoon, to see one of the best ice halo displays I have ever seen. I didn’t have a camera with a wide-angle lens, so I could only get part of it in one shot.

Ice halo over Barrow, showing sun with 22º halo, parhelic circle running through the sundog, and the lower tangent arc on the horizon.
Ice halo, showing sun with 22º halo, a parhelic circle through the parhelion (sundog), and an upper tangent arc.

Then my camera battery died.  I didn’t get a good picture of the outer 46º halo.  The whole display looked a lot like the Parry 1820 display.

But just then, as I was turning to go back inside in disappointment, I heard a snow bunting singing!  I couldn’t see him, but he was there, and so I know spring is too.