Can you help with a rainbow question?

Question

The other day while shoveling snow I flopped down to take a break, and noticed a circular rainbow above me.

I had never seen this before. Does anyone know why a ring-shaped rainbow would appear as opposed to an arch?

Answer 1

The 22° halo is the most common of the halo phenomena and is caused by the refraction of sunlight (or moonlight) through ice crystals with faces at 60° to each other (the most common shape). A veil of cirrostratus cloud provides the ice crystals. You might not see the cloud but the presence of a halo is confirmation that the cloud is there. There are some lovely images of 22° haloes and many other halo phenomena here: http://www.meteoros.de/haloe.htm

Answer 2

Yes, this is fairly common. It could be a halo, a Sundog, or a Sun Pillar. All three are formed by the refraction of sun light through ice crystals of various form. For example, a halo, the most common of which is a 22 degree halo is seen 22 degrees from either the sun or the moon when column type ice crystals with diameters of less than 20 micrometers become randomly oriented.

Answer 3

I've never heard of a rainbow seen above. The reason is; to see a rainbow, you need to have the light source behind you. As a pilot, I often see circular rainbows. It comes when e.g. I fly right above a layer of thin stratus clouds or the fog. I can then see the rainbow under me and as a circle.
The only kind of rainbow one can see by looking up is the aura that can form around the sun and the moon when they are slightly veiled by a thin layer of e.g. strato-cirrus clouds.

Answer 4

Basically rainbows are due to refraction and internal reflection of light. So light passes through the water particles from the melting of the snow & causes the rainbow.

Well it is also comforting that God made this small delight to remind us of his promise to Noah & also to us. You are Special.