We were out snowshoeing and saw Sun Halos along the way.

Sun halos are caused by thin, high cirrus clouds in the atmosphere and ice crystals refracting and reflecting the sun’s rays light.  We took some photos into the sun, trying to avoid overexposure and bright spots (sun dogs).

Sun halos are relatively rare.    They are formed when hexagonal ice crystals refract the sun’s light, at 22 degrees from the sun.   The prism effect goes from red on the inside to violet on the outer ring.

This was seen at Lodgepole Lake on February 20th.