Things I'd like to see

This is not a checklist. I worry that a checklist would turn seeing something wonderful into merely a completed task, at least in part. But for now, I've seen hundreds of 22º halos, and even spotting a partial arc is still a reason for a stirring of joy.

Still: this is a sort of list. These are things I intentionally look for when glancing out a window, biking from one place to another, or walking around with a friend. Everyone sees what's familiar, but we all have different lists. I love going on walks with the people I love, because they point out things I simply do not see on my own: from the variety of windowframes on different buildings to the colors of the flowers we walk past. One of my very favorite flowers is the chrysanthemum. A bit over a year ago I didn't know what that was or that so many grew near me. Now I see them all the time, because of a walk I took with one of my friends one day.

I hope this list can help you see more of the beautiful things the world—and especially the sky—has to offer.

For the things I have seen: at some point, I hope to make the images appear when you hover over the text.



Atmospheric optics

Halos

These are rainbow-like or glowing white objects in the sky, created (usually) by sunlight or moonlight refracting through ice crystals. The most common types are the 22º halo and the sun dog, and I typically see at least part of one of them multiple days a week, all year long.

Common or uncommon types

On any non-overcast day, I look for sun dogs and the 22º halo. If either is bright or well-formed, I'll look for the others on this list.
Technically the sun pillar belongs on this list, but for some reason it just doesn't excite me. Maybe that will change someday. Still, it's a fairly common sight as the sun gets lower in the sky, so it's worth keeping an eye out for. If you're into that sort of thing.

In principle, the moon (or any other sufficiently bright light source) could create all the same halos as the sun does. I've never seen a lunar or other halo of any kind.


Rare types

If any of the less common halos are present, I'll look for these.

Very rare types

I don't expect to ever see any of these, unless I end up somewhere well within the (ant)arctic circles or at a ski resort actively making snow. But I still look for them if any of the uncommon halos are present, because you never know!

I couldn't name most of these if I saw them, but I'm aware of the parts of the sky most of them appear in and generally what sorts of arcs or blobs I could expect to see there. Note that while every halo listed to this point appears in the general direction of the sun or near the zenith, some of the ones in this category appear near the anthelic point, on the opposite side of the sky from the sun.

This list is incomplete! The full list of halo types is large, and includes subhorizon halos that essentially can't be seen without an airplane or other great elevation. Someday I'll look through the scientific literature for a survey paper, if such a thing does exist. I wouldn't be surprised if this research area has remained effectively untouched for many decades, though, and kept alive mainly by enthusiasts and citizen scientists.


Coronas

Section to be added


Rainbows

There are more variants of rainbow than just the double rainbow. (I'm not saying anything bad about double rainbows!) There are higher-order rainbows: when I was in high school, I remember hearing the tertiary and quaternary rainbows were first photographed. There are also photos of the fifth-order or quinary bow, though I cannot see anything in most of the photos of it, even though I know what I'm looking for. The rainbow orders continue upward forever, all located in a different part of the sky: the tertiary and quaternary are near the sun, and the quinary falls between the primary and secondary.

I read somewhere—I'll track down a reference later—that the tertiary bow is at the edge of human visual perception, so the quaternary and beyond require photographic equipment and photo editing skills to make visible. But I think it is beautiful that, at all times, the sky is full of rainbows, even if we cannot see them.

Here are other, often rarer, types of rainbows I look for whenever it rains:


Weather and space weather

Aurora phenomena

I'm still learning about aurora types and associated phenomena, but the next time I look for aurora I'll also look for SAR arcs, giant blue rays—these are planetary-scale structures, and STEVEs.

May 10 2024 sightings

October 10 2024 sightings

Aurora types and aurora-related phenomena I'm interested in seeing: