Mount Hood, Oregon

 Mount Hood, Oregon — A Symphony of Light and Ice 

Over the iconic peak of Mount Hood, the sky unveils a breathtaking dance of halos — luminous rings encircling the sun in perfect harmony.

This rare phenomenon, known as a double solar halo, occurs when sunlight refracts through countless hexagonal ice crystals drifting high in cirrostratus clouds. The result: glowing circles of prismatic color that crown the mountain .

When light passes through these ice crystals at just the right angle (typically 22° and 46°), it bends into concentric rings — each one a spectrum, each one a whisper of frozen sunlight.

It’s a perfect union of geology and atmosphere, a fleeting moment where the Earth and sky mirror each other’s brilliance.