[LuggerSailor]

This isn't a photographic error. It is a reflection from the firmament that can be seen with the naked eye.

This isn't a reflection off your firmament, it's a refraction through ice crystals commonly known as "Sun Dogs" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dogs

[Pongo]

I split this off the thread in Q&A as it's not the place to debate.

[Thork]

I know the round earth explanation. How do you think I found so many images. But it is yet another excuse.

You need to explain why you get an extra sun either side using ice crystals and not a halo as expected. It is easy however to see how you might get multiple suns reflecting off a firmament even though there is only one source.


If this is a top down view, now you can see how you get to see the 'sun' both sides of the flat earth at once.

[Rounder]

You need to explain why you get an extra sun either side using ice crystals and not a halo as expected.

Read the wiki.  No, not the TFES wiki, I mean the wikipedia article cited by Lugger in the first post.  The explanation is right there.  Along with some photos that DO exhibit shapes more halo-like than this one.

[TheTruthIsOnHere]

You need to explain why you get an extra sun either side using ice crystals and not a halo as expected.

Read the wiki.  No, not the TFES wiki, I mean the wikipedia article cited by Lugger in the first post.  The explanation is right there.  Along with some photos that DO exhibit shapes more halo-like than this one.

I've lost a lot of respect for using wikipedia as a source for anything anymore... most stuff I read is written with some kind of bias, or obvious view... when the information there should be objective as possible. (not a defense of TFES wiki btw, which obviously has a bias, and point of view)

Looking at the article though, it's talking about being a result of "horizontal, hexigonal ice crystals" but I don't see anywhere on the wiki how this conclusion came about.

[Jura-Glenlivet]

I spend a lot of time looking for this kind of phenomenon (bit of a hobby), Thork, get out more, sundogs and many other types of halo are observable at least on a weekly basis towards sunset on a clear day, sometimes there are halos, arcs & sundogs, the colder the better but even in summer the upper atmosphere is easily low enough in temperature to produce them. As to how, the best site I found is http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halosim.htm , there are about ten easily understood pages of explanations and photos of histories, how why and when, or you can skip straight to the sundog bit, either way it's a good site.

It even has a halo simulator http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/halfeat.htm showing how it all works, with mathematical models of the ice crystals.