A RAINBOW RING AROUND THE SUN

 A RAINBOW RING AROUND THE SUN

This happened over open water on a clear day when thin, high clouds drifted across the Sun. The big circle is a solar halo: sunlight passing through tiny ice crystals in high clouds bends into a ring. The rainbow-bright band happens because the light is being refracted and spread — stronger color usually means the cloud layer is just the right thickness.

Those darker streaks below are sunbeams (crepuscular rays), formed when cloud patches block parts of the sunlight and the rest pours through in visible lanes.

Where you can see this in the USA:

Great Plains (TX/OK/KS/NE) — wide skies + high thin clouds

Rockies & High Plains (CO/WY/MT/UT) — crisp air + icy cloud layers

Coastal horizons (California coast, Florida, Pacific Northwest) — sun + marine haze + thin clouds
Best timing: midday to late afternoon when you see thin, milky high clouds around the Sun.