WHEN THE SUN ROSE THROUGH A PERFECT RING OF COLOR

 WHEN THE SUN ROSE THROUGH A PERFECT RING OF COLOR 

 Atlantic coastline near Nazaré, Portugal

Early risers along the shoreline expected another calm sunrise over the ocean. The horizon was clear, the waves were quiet, and thin high clouds drifted across the sky. Then the sunlight began passing through a different layer of the atmosphere.

As the Sun lifted above the water, a luminous circular halo formed around it .. not a rainbow, not a cloud, but a glowing ring high in the sky. The effect came from sunlight passing through millions of tiny ice crystals in high-altitude cirrostratus clouds, each one refracting the light at the same precise angle. Together, they produced a full 22-degree solar halo around the rising Sun.

What made the moment remarkable was the timing. The Sun appeared at the lower edge of the ring, giving the halo a perfectly centered and symmetrical appearance. The water reflected warm gold tones below while cooler colors remained above, creating a scene that looked almost unreal.

Then the Sun climbed higher, the ice crystals shifted, and the glowing circle gradually faded back into thin cloud.