Sussex Sun Halo

I was hanging the laundry out this morning when I looked up and a sun halo:

22-degree sun halo in Sussex

This particular beauty is a 22° degree halo which is formed when sunlight is refracted by ice crystals in the barely-visible cirrus clouds. While not rare as such, it is certainly unusual to see such a complete example in the UK. I am using the bird-feeder to eclipse the sun so that the sensor on my camera wasn't too flooded with light from the sun (I was in point-and-shoot mode).

Optical effects are probably my favourite thing to see in the sky. Antarctica was great for them as the cold atmosphere means they appear more frequently. Seeing this gave me a spring in my step all day! If you are lucky enough to spot one, view it wearing sunglasses and use your hand to block the sun to avoid damaging your eyes.

In other news, the strawberries are progressing well, and I think I'll have my first strawberry any day now!