Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
p.1 #1Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
Was at Fantasy Canyon last week and saw this odd halo around the sun that stuck around for a decent while. To the naked eye, it looked rainbow colored. I asked some folks I know and they said variously that it was a sun halo, a sun dog, and a 22 degree halo. I've never seen this happen before. Can someone confirm what this is?
Whatever it is, I feel very lucky to not just have witnessed it, but to have witnessed it in a place with terrain I could use as a vertical foreground. This was around noon, so I was shooting nearly straight up.
Whatever it is, I feel very lucky to not just have witnessed it, but to have witnessed it in a place with terrain I could use as a vertical foreground. This was around noon, so I was shooting nearly straight up.
May 26, 2026 at 01:25 PM
p.1 #2Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
It's hard to tell the angular scale, though it seems like it could well be a 22° halo. A sun dog is something different, that is a brightening in a halo to the left and right of the sun. What focal length was this taken at? FF or APS-C sensor?
May 26, 2026 at 02:03 PM
p.1 #3Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
kirbic wrote:
It's hard to tell the angular scale, though it seems like it could well be a 22° halo. A sun dog is something different, that is a brightening in a halo to the left and right of the sun. What focal length was this taken at? FF or APS-C sensor?
M4/3 from an Olympus EM1 Mk2, 7mm for the horizontal shots, 9mm for the vertical one, f/8 for the first two, f/20 for the last one (on account of trying to get the sun star.)
It's hard to tell the angular scale, though it seems like it could well be a 22° halo. A sun dog is something different, that is a brightening in a halo to the left and right of the sun. What focal length was this taken at? FF or APS-C sensor?
M4/3 from an Olympus EM1 Mk2, 7mm for the horizontal shots, 9mm for the vertical one, f/8 for the first two, f/20 for the last one (on account of trying to get the sun star.)
May 26, 2026 at 02:06 PM
p.1 #4Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
Ah, so for the horizontal shot, we are looking at a 14mm equivalent in FF terms. That helps. Gives us a FOV of about 115°. The halo is a bit under 1/3 of that so it's close to what you'd expect for a halo with 22° radius. Because circles are "stretched" near the edges of a wide-angle rectilinear frame, we do expect the roughly-centered 22° circle to be a little larger than you'd calculate by dividing 44 into 115.
I would conclude, yes, 22° halo.
I would conclude, yes, 22° halo.
May 27, 2026 at 03:55 PM
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p.1 #5Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
Meteorologically, it's a halo. In a rarer event, it can literally ring the sun, immediately around the sun's sphere - that's called a corona. Take it from an old weather forecaster.
May 28, 2026 at 12:25 AM
p.1 #6Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
I have encountered this shooting with a filter stacked on a polarizer. It is a really cool effect.
Joel
Joel
May 28, 2026 at 05:48 AM
p.1 #7Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
Beautiful. Even approaching retirement, it is still possible to learn something new everyday.
The following link suggests the effect is tied to refraction of light through suspended ice crystals in the atmosphere.
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/odj30v/a_spectacular_lunar_halo_known_as_a_22_halo_in/
The following link suggests the effect is tied to refraction of light through suspended ice crystals in the atmosphere.
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/odj30v/a_spectacular_lunar_halo_known_as_a_22_halo_in/
May 28, 2026 at 06:06 AM
p.1 #8Fantasy Canyon - Odd Sun Phenomenon
kirbic wrote:
Ah, so for the horizontal shot, we are looking at a 14mm equivalent in FF terms. That helps. Gives us a FOV of about 115°. The halo is a bit under 1/3 of that so it's close to what you'd expect for a halo with 22° radius. Because circles are "stretched" near the edges of a wide-angle rectilinear frame, we do expect the roughly-centered 22° circle to be a little larger than you'd calculate by dividing 44 into 115.
I would conclude, yes, 22° halo.
Neat, thank you for confirming! I wouldn't have thought to do the math like that.
Taperwing wrote:
Beautiful. Even approaching retirement, it is still possible to learn something new everyday.
The following link suggests the effect is tied to refraction of light through suspended ice crystals in the atmosphere.
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/odj30v/a_spectacular_lunar_halo_known_as_a_22_halo_in/
That's some cool background information, thank you!
Ah, so for the horizontal shot, we are looking at a 14mm equivalent in FF terms. That helps. Gives us a FOV of about 115°. The halo is a bit under 1/3 of that so it's close to what you'd expect for a halo with 22° radius. Because circles are "stretched" near the edges of a wide-angle rectilinear frame, we do expect the roughly-centered 22° circle to be a little larger than you'd calculate by dividing 44 into 115.
I would conclude, yes, 22° halo.
Neat, thank you for confirming! I wouldn't have thought to do the math like that.
Taperwing wrote:
Beautiful. Even approaching retirement, it is still possible to learn something new everyday.
The following link suggests the effect is tied to refraction of light through suspended ice crystals in the atmosphere.
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/odj30v/a_spectacular_lunar_halo_known_as_a_22_halo_in/
That's some cool background information, thank you!
May 28, 2026 at 07:11 AM