Rainbow or halo?

[Thistle]

I was sailing on Saturday afternoon and saw, pretty much above me, what I took at first sight to be part of a solar halo. On second thoughts I realised it couldn't be a halo because it was the "wrong way round" - it curved away from the sun rather than round it.

It can't have been a normal rainbow either. Looking at a rainbow you, roughly, have your back to the sun. In this case I was much closer to facing the sun. The angle between the sun, me and the "rainbow" must have been around 45 degrees. (Racing a Laser at the time so didn't have my sextant to hand to measure the angle!)

Can anyone explain what I was looking at? (And, no, it wasn't alcohol or drug induced!)

 

[sarabande]

inverted parhelion or sundog. Means rain shortly. Or sometimes cataclismic events if you believe the soothsayers.

Normal angle is 22 degs so your estimate of 45 for the inverted one is only 1/2 deg out

 

[Thistle]

inverted parhelion or sundog. Means rain shortly. Or sometimes cataclismic events if you believe the soothsayers.

Normal angle is 22 degs so your estimate of 45 for the inverted one is only 1/2 deg out

Thanks. But ... nice, mainly sunny day, no rain; definitely cataclismic- I won the race; good to be praised for a close estimate but I can't quite get my head round the fact that because it was inverted, the sun - observer - "rainbow" angle must have changed along the length of the "rainbow".

Still - easily - confused!

 

[sarabande]

have a look at this Youtube vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qQwozKfpvg&feature=related


Similar phenomenon ?

 

[Thistle]

have a look at this Youtube vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qQwozKfpvg&feature=related


Similar phenomenon ?

Yes, thank you, at about 30-34 seconds into the video. A "circumzenithal arc" according to one comment. Eh?

Edit: explanation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumzenithal_arc. You learn something new every day!

 

[sarabande]

crystals, man, like ice crystals