Strange weather phenomenon

Strange weather phenomenon part 3/3

My parents took this photo today. Does anyone know what it is?

It looks like a Circumzenithal arc, but it’s got another rainbow.

Could it be a Kern arc? Those have only been seen 6 times.

More info on Flickr!

Update
Les from Atmospheric Optics tell me that the top half is a circumzenithal arc, and the bottom half is a "rare supralateral arc made by hexagonal column crystals"

Apparently seeing this is quite rare: "the combination of the two would be once a year or less"

Thanks again to Les for clearing this up :)

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1 Responses to “Strange weather phenomenon”


  • Don’t think it’s a Kern arc, but I do think it’s a circumzenithal arc.

    The second, fainter arc is possibly just another refraction due to more ice crystals.

    What ever it is, it’s both very pretty and extremely rare!

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