Halos

A 22° halo with strong parhelia and an upper tangent arc.

Halos and FIres

A strong parhelia and 22° halo. Outside you can also see the faint 46° halo, and then smoke from the Haystack fire on the far right.

Great summer optics! A 22° halo, parhelia, and partial circumscribed halo.

Sundog

January 29, 2021. Parhelia appears over the trees. It's been so warm this winter I haven't seen many ice halos before this week. It wasn't very bright, but there was a faint, partial parhelic circle as well (extending out from the sundog). Temperature: -4°F (-20°C) | Sunrise: 9:44 am | Sunset: 4:24 pm

Parhelia

A Cold Day

A -24°F morning in Fairbanks, Alaska. Sunrise and sundog over the Alaska Range.

Light Pillars

January 26, 2021. Light pillars appear over railroad tracks near Tanana Lakes in Fairbanks, Alaska. This awesome atmospheric phenomenon is caused by light reflecting off of ice crystals in the atmosphere. They depend on the brightness of the light, location of ice crystals, and unlike a light beam, also on the location of the observer. I have a write-up on light pillars on my website here: https://lwpetersen.com/atmospheric-optics/light-pillars/ - Temperature: -21°F (-29°C) | Sunrise: 9:53 am | Sunset: 4:14 pm

Light Pillars

Light pillars over railroad tracks in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Light Pillars

Lots of colors over town and a good variety of altitude.

Light Pillars

Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana

January 14, 2021. Normally we can barely see the Delta Mountains from Fairbanks, as the subrange of the Alaska Range is about 140 miles away. However, yesterday we had a very strong temperature inversion which causes a superior mirage called Fata Morgana. We see these mirages very often in the winter, but this was by far the best display I have seen as it combined with the sunset light hitting the peaks just perfectly. Taken at 3:07 pm from the University of Alaska. Temperature: -8°F in town and +10°F on the hill | Sunrise: 10:27 am | Sunset: 3:33 pm

Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana

Sundogs

Sundogs

Sundog and Islands

In Prince William Sound near Valdez, Alaska

Iridescent Clouds

Iridescent clouds under the Sun in Denali National Park.

Halo

A strong 22 degree halo. Denali is on the left.

Forest light

A little fog and crepuscular rays make for a beautiful sight!

Lower Tangent Arc

A bit of a halo and a good lower tangent arc.