wpo - rainbows, halos & other atmospheric phenomena

SW London+Surrey Skywatchers & Astronomy Club >> Ewell Astronomical Society
These are some pictures showing optical effects caused by our atmosphere.

2005 Nov 14 - pleasing sunset and Crystal Palace TV aerial [scope alignment] and Venus exceptionally low due south after lunch via back in action 30cm SCT.

2005 July 25:  brief hole-in-cloud [weather system eye?] forms crude 3D pair through cloud movement plus castellatus cloud with ice cloud fallout.

2004 Mar 21: Heiligenschein or bright halo seen around the shadow of one's head [or camera] as shown here, caused by backscatter of sunlight and minimal shadow effect in wet grass or dew.  More pics and details here.

2004 Jan 25:  Iridescent cloud see around the sun in lead cloud as front moves in from the west.  Later classic solar halo seen.


2002 Nov 2: Fine but classic solar halo at sun-up via Minolta D7 digital camera at high colour saturation.

2002 Oct 28: Unusual cloud formations lunchtime today ie large circular holes up to 90^o angular diameter in high cloud moving rapidly SE. My email posted via uk.sci.astronomy forum prompted more pictures from across SE England

2002 July 7: Rare Noctilucent Cloud recorded from Headley Heath - Surrey at the Ewell AS observing evening - the first since 1994 June 29 from WPO via 17mm fl f/4 lens + SX-c CCD adjacent - part of a sequence of  8 images - the bright star is Capella.

2001 June 25:A spectacular summer sunset captured via a Sony DV camcorder in movie mode.

2000 July - picture by Mike Fantham of double bow and superluminary bows beneath the main bow - taken in the Lincoln area.

2000 June 17/18/19:  A mini-heatwave with temps in upper 80'sF/ low 90's and clear skies.  Sunday June 18 was exceptional for the clarity of the sky [above right] - completely cloudfree to the horizon and deep blue [BBC Weather Report quotes "hotest UK June day since 1976"].  Short vapour trails from overflying aircraft dispersed after a few seconds.

1999 Aug-early Sept: a circumzenithal arc [below] seen in cirrus on three additional afternoons in this period from 5.00pm to 5.30pm above a lowish sun.....it must be fairly common.
1999 Aug 5: My first view of a colourful circumzenithal arc - recorded from my garden on the Kodak DC 40 camera. They are centred on the zenith and formed with the sun 46^o below the 'bow' and the sun <32^o above horizon [ref:Clouds of the World by Richard Scorer].
1999 July 3 - midnight: Strong evidence of Noctilucent Cloud on northern horizon below and west [left] of Capella as a pearly blue light like horizontal wisps of cirrus cloud. No movement detected in 15 minutes. Seen through breaks in silhouetted foreground cloud.