Icesheet #4727

Photograph by Murray Fredericks, National Geographic

A constellation of orbs, rings, and halos hangs above the Greenland ice sheet in this picture by Murray Fredericks, who spent months photographing the island s remote beauty. The optical phenomena seen here occur when ice crystals suspended by powerful winds called piteraqs refract sunlight.

ICESHEET #4727, 22 AND 46 HALO, TANGENT ARC, PARRY ARC, CIRCUMZENITHAL ARC, AND PARHELIC CIRCLE

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