Late this afternoon I stepped outside and although there were no signs of halos or parhelia (sundogs) there was a beautiful circumzenithal arc. I ran in for my camera and by the time I returned it had faded considerably. I had time for one photo and then it was gone.

The circumzenithal arc appears high in the sky, and you really have to crane your neck up to see it. Perhaps for this reason, it is often overlooked. Les Crowley, the British meteorologist known for his study of atmospheric optics, describes the circumzenithal arc as “an ethereal rainbow fled from its watery origins and wrapped improbably about the zenith.”

An atmospheric treat; the circumzenithal arc over Hamilton.