Snowy Firs and a Faint Halo Rainbow

A snow-packed road climbs gently between dark conifers heavy with fresh snow. Two small figures walk along it in the distance, which gives the scene a sense of scale. On the left a pale sun glows low behind thin cloud, and a steep, rocky slope rises beyond the trees. On the right, a faint band of spectral colour arcs through the grey-blue sky, soft reds and yellows fading into the cloud. The palette is cool and quiet, mostly white, slate and deep green, with a little warmth near the sun.

The colours in the sky come from a halo, an optical effect that appears when sunlight passes through ice crystals in high, thin cloud. The facts for this photo name a 22-degree halo, a sundog and a supralateral arc, all produced by hexagonal crystals bending the light. They are most often seen in cold weather, when the sun is fairly low. The photo was taken in Yellowstone National Park, where winter roads like this one are often used by skiers. The wide frame and the open sky on the left suit a landscape-oriented desktop monitor, with room for icons along the left edge.

More like this: Steaming Winter Shore with a Grazing Bison.