Rare sundogs smile in the sky of Chile

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Rare sundogs accompanied by a reverse rainbow stunned residents of Calama and Antofagasta, Chile on February 17, 2016.

As if the parhelia was smiling at us from the sky.

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First sundogs appeared. Facebook
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Then a circumzenithal arc appeared over the parhelia. Facebook
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On top as well as below the tripping star. Is that a circumhorizontal arc? Facebook
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Here another more colorful picture of this circumhorizontal arc over Antofagasta. Facebook
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Like a big smile in the sky. Facebook
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A real awesome reverse rainbow also known as circumzenithal arc. Facebook
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And again some iridescent clouds. Or I believe them to be a circumhorizontal arc. What about you? Facebook
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So we have seen three different kinds of atmospheric phenomena in these pictures… Sundogs or parhelia which consists of a pair of bright spots on either side on the Sun. Circumzenithal arc which is an optical phenomenon similar in appearance to a reverse rainbow. And finally a circumhorizontal arc which in its full form appear like a large, brightly spectrum-coloured band running parallel to the horizon, located below the Sun or Moon.

All these sky phenomena are members of a large family of halos, created by light interacting with ice crystals or rain in the atmosphere.

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