circumzenithal arc

Menlo Park resident David Sowerine sent us photos of a circumzenithal arc spotted overhead in Menlo Park last night shortly before 7:00 pm. And yes that got us scrambling for the dictionary.

David was good enough to send a link to Atmospheric Optics with more information:

“The circumzenithal arc, CZA, is the most beautiful of all the halos. The first sighting is always a surprise, an ethereal rainbow fled from its watery origins and wrapped improbably about the zenith. It is often described as an upside down rainbow’ by first timers. Someone also charmingly likened it to ‘a grin in the sky.'”

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