Dawn at 36000 feet

Day 06 Dawn at 36000 ft

Many times I have seen a 22 degree halo round the sun viewed from the earth's surface, but this view must be really unusual. The sun is shining UP through a thin layer of cirrostratus just beneath the aircraft so here I was looking DOWN on a 22 degree halo along with the orange dawn colours. A fantastic sight. It must be a very rare sight, even for pilots.

Later, as the sun rose above the cloud, it reflected brightly off the ice crystals producing a sun pillar (below the sun) and a very bright spot where the sun reflected mirror-like from the top of horizontal plates of ice crystals.