Solar Crown

Sometimes nature places a true crown upon the sun.

A couple of years ago, in summer, while shooting a sunset, I managed to capture a rare optical and simultaneously magical effect. A bright sun disk was burning in the sky, a perfect glowing ring was shining around it, and rays diverged from it with geometric precision. At that moment, my imagination kicked in, and I truly saw a solar crown.

This is not the solar corona that astronomers study and that is visible only during an eclipse. This is a halo — a play of light in ice crystals located in the upper layers of the atmosphere, an optical illusion. (I already had a post about this phenomenon.)

It all didn't last long, just a few seconds — and then, the magic vanished. I took several more shots after that, but the closer the sun set to the horizon, the more irregular shape the halo took.

Perhaps people are drawn to sunsets because we love to believe in miracles.

Thank you for stopping by!

Alanya, Türkiye.
June, 2023.
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