subsun

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Reflection subsun in Southern Finland

6th January, 2017, I observed quite a clear reflection subsun in the southern Finland.

It was morning,  local time around 11am. I looked outside and saw a nice sun pillar. And clouds, that were about to block the Sun. So I went to take photos of the pillar before it was too late.

I got the pictures and stayed for a while and saw the clouds running over the Sun. Surprisingly, the pillar didnt disappear. I waited for a little while longer but the halo was stubborn. Then I realized, the source was not the Sun, directly, but its reflection! The sea is a couple of miles away and wasnt yet frozen (map).

More pictures can be found here.


Author: Matti Helin, near Turku, Southwest Finland

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Double Halos

During a sunrise on 2013, May 13th I saw from the Zugspitze (2963m) two pillars with different inclinations. The most remote pillar was diffuse and came from virga below altocumulus; the other one originated from nearby icefog and was narrow and distinct. Unfortunately in most of my photos the two pillars overlap, but at the end they show up separate. The 3-D impression was very fascinating.

Subsuns appear very often during wintertime. It may happen that they appear in two different ice clouds: one of them may be affected by sheer wind causing the crystals to be tilted. Then, two subsuns are visible, one of them being displaced from the solar vertical. A displaced subsun is often a indicator for imminent sheer winds at the observer’s spot.

Double subsun on Mt. Wendelstein (1838m).

Double Subsun on Mt. Zugspitze.

Double Subsuns on Mt. Wendelstein (above) and Mt. Zugspitze.

Author: Claudia Hinz