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A rare sighting of a 4-ringed Corona over the Jungfraujoch in the Bernese Alps.
11 thoughts on “Mark McCaughrean”
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Lenticularis over Canyon View Mobile Home Park, United States
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A reflective view of the sunset while at a gas station in Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
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Multiple fallstreak holes (cavum) spotted over Sebastopol, California, US
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A vibrant sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, near Boca Raton, Florida, US
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Contrail over Downsview-Roding-CFB, Canada
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Contrails and contrail shadows present themselves in this unique atmospheric optical phenomena, wherein the shadows are created when the sun (or moon) casts a shadow of an aircraft contrail onto a lower layer of clouds or haze. The interplay of light, clouds, and ice crystals, coupled with one's viewing angle, gives rise to a captivating display in the sky, as seen here during sunset over Falls Church, Virginia, US.
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Cirrus spissatus over Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand
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Moon dog, analogous to a sun dog (parhelion), but with the light from the moon that is interacting with ice crystals in the atmosphere, spotted here over The Villages, Florida, US
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A "big bird" is spotted overhead in the midst of the cirrus clouds over Goodyear, Arizona, US
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A unique view of what might be interpreted as a solar corona, reflected through particles in the atmosphere, spotted at sunset near Saint-Jean-des-Vignes, France
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Altocumulus undulatus radiatus, viewed while facing north in the early morning hours, near Charlo, Montana, US
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A blue landscape wherein the water appears to meet the sky, near Taitung, Taiwan
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Altocumulus lenticularis spotted over the Sierra Nevada mountains, as viewed from Granada, Spain
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Altocumulus and cumulus fractus spotted over Sanxia District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
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Iridescence over Lochbuie, United States
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Wow.
Beautiful
Thanks, Margret; sounds like I was quite lucky on that day then. Interestingly, I expect that most people up there at the same time didn’t notice it: it’s not the obvious thing to do, looking at the Sun :-)
Indeed, if I recall correctly, I first noticed the corona (which was coming and going quite rapidly) when taking a picture down towards the glacier. The Sun was in the shot, but rather attenuated by the camera optics, making it easy to notice the corona. But once I knew it was there, it was very easy to observe naked-eye as well, blocking the Sun with my hand.
Amazing photo. I’ve been up there a few times and have never seen anything like this. Very dense fog, yes; clear, crystalline air, yes; Alpine choughs riding the thermals, yes – so, worth a trip regardless of the weather!
I’ve been up there a few times and have never seen anything like this. Very dense fog, yes; clear, crystalline air, yes; Alpine choughs riding the thermals, yes – so, worth a trip regardless of the weather!
Many thanks, Mark, for the additional information you provided about the taking of your unique photo – I found it most interesting. One day perhaps I may see such an event when I plan to visit the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland next year.
Kind regards.
Laurence
Thanks, Laurence. It was indeed a wonderful sight, but in some sense, the photo slightly overplays it. Not because it has been heavily processed or anything, but simply because in real life, it was a very fleeting spectacle, coming and going rapidly as the wind blew the ragged clouds over the summit. Conversely, the picture allows you to stare at it and soak up the beauty :-)
Given the particular topography of the Jungfraujoch, I’d hazard a guess that such conditions are quite common there and it seems possible that multi-ringed coronae might be seen quite often. So make the trip: it’s well worthwhile in any case :-)
Brilliant, Mark. What a unique spectacle to see! Lucky, so lucky, you.
Laurence
It’s incredible ~
Thanks, John: clouds were blowing up sporadically over the Jungfraujoch from the Aletsch glacier, and at points where they were thin, there was a nice corona to be seen, albeit rapidly changing as the clouds blew through.
That said, I didn’t quite realise how rare and special a 4-ringed corona is until I did a little checking on Les Cowley’s Atmospheric Optics later on.
Superb Capture Mark !