Corona

 

A corona is a one, two, or even three ring diffraction halo, seen around the Sun (above) or the Moon. The effect is due to tiny uniform water droplets (and sometimes pollen grains) in the atmosphere. The angular size of the halo is determined by the droplet size.

The simulated halo image above has been pasted to a mountain foreground - the foreground of actual photographs taken at Mount Hutt in New Zealand. The delicate pastel shades are closer to those of the actual halo observed with the naked eye than the digital images.

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