Starship Asterisk*

Parhelic arc! That has to be it! Thanks, G!

I edited the original post and added one more shot that shows double 22 degree halo a little better. I wonder if there are two separate layers of ice crystals?

APOD is the best!

Thanks for the replies. Please check out my edit of the original post. I added a non-panoramic photo that might help with perspective. Thoughts?

Here's a 22 degree halo with a couple of twists that I cannot find an answer to. Note that the "main" halo around the sun seems to be a double. Also note the separate -- and seemingly larger than 22 degrees and without the rainbow effect -- halo to the right of the main one. Thoughts? The ...

Thanks, guys. I'm getting smarter... or at least learning more. Dodd

Regarding the Venus transit -- and specifically the June 13 post A Venus Transit Over the Baltic Sea Image Credit & Copyright Jens Hackmann -- I became curious about gravity and the warping of the fabric of space. Using the common example of a bowling ball on a trampoline representing the sun an...

Thanks, Art. I will definitely be Googling "anti-solar point" and "rainbows" in an effort to better understand your answer, which I certainly get the gist of. The "low moon" analogy certainly makes sense. Take care. D

Here's a mediocre photo I took near Columbus, GA, October 27, 2010 of a strangely flattened rainbow. I never even considered that a rainbow could be any other arch/diameter than what is "normal." Trust me, they can. Please explain. Thanks. Dodd Clifton

Thanks again everyone for the feedback. I am very happy to have seen whatever we saw, because it has made me all the more interested in the skies above... and below, for that matter. This Georgia/USA boy recently saw the Southern Cross for the first time on a visit to Argentina. Very cool. Keep look...

Thanks, Harry. Perhaps a satellite, if it were geosynchronous, very bright, and then lost illumination suddenly. This event was not subtle. In fact, it was dramatic enough to keep me interested/looking for answers. Will keep y'all posted. D

I was in South Dakota studying the sky just before dawn on May 4 or 5, 2008. I'm an amateur astronomer at best, but I was showing a buddy of mine two planets (I thought), one of which I thought was certainly Venus and the other perhaps Saturn or Jupiter when what I thought was Saturn/Jupiter disappe...