A RAINBOW “WING” BROKE OPEN AROUND THE SUN
A RAINBOW “WING” BROKE OPEN AROUND THE SUNIt happened on a clear afternoon in the Appalachian Mountains (Tennessee / North Carolina) — the kind of sky that looks normal… until the light suddenly bends and the whole horizon feels wider.
That glowing arc near the Sun is the look of a halo-style rainbow: sunlight passing through tiny ice crystals in thin, high clouds (cirrus). Those crystals act like little prisms, refracting the light and separating it into colors. The intense burst at the center is the Sun shining through a thinner patch of cloud, making the light feel sharper and more concentrated.
Where this can appear in the USA:
Appalachians (TN/NC/VA) — frequent thin high clouds over ridges
Rocky Mountains (CO/WY/MT) — cold upper air + cirrus layers
Great Plains (KS/NE/OK) — big skies + high cloud sheets
Best timing: late morning to late afternoon when you see thin, milky high clouds drifting across a bright Sun.
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