12 O'clock High
Introduction
The photograph on this page of 12 O'clock High by Arnold Price as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
12 O'clock High
Image: © Arnold Price Taken: 31 Aug 2010
The circumzenithal arc or circumzenith arc (CZA), also called the Bravais' arc, is an optical phenomenon similar in appearance to a rainbow; but it arises from refraction of sunlight through horizontally-oriented ice crystals, generally in cirrus clouds, rather than from raindrops. It forms no more than one-quarter of a circle centred on the zenith and on the same side as the sun. Its colours are from blue on the inside to red on the outside of the arc. It is one of the brightest and most colourful halos. Its colours are purer than those of the rainbow because there is much less colour overlap in its formation. The first impression is that of an upside-down rainbow. The circumzenithal arc has been called "a smile in the sky". It is rarely noticed because it occurs so far overhead, but in fact is relatively common. Cirrus clouds which cause a sun dog can cause a circumzenithal arc when they reach the zenith, if the Sun is low in the sky. (Source - Wikipedia)
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
54.094967
Longitude
-2.801322