Crystals in the sky

The title could have fooled you but the colours are so beautiful
that I can't help but think of crystals and gemstones of
sapphires and rubies and topazes and amethysts, pearls,
emeralds, and jade and diamonds and........

No, this is not the sky in Kuala Lumpur nor in Kuching but
somewhere over the Washington-Idaho border captured on a
Saturday midday.

In a breathtaking blaze of glory, Nature puts on one of its
most spectacular sky shows.

Reds, oranges, blues and greens create a flaming rainbow
that stretches above the clouds.

But this circumhorizon arc, as it is known, owes more to
ice than fire. It occurs when sunlight passes through
ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. It is one of 15 types
of ice halos formed only when the most specific of factors
dovetail precisely together.

This blanket of fire, covering hundreds of square miles,
is the rarest phenomenon of them all. It was spotted in
the US on the Washington-Idaho border around midday last
Saturday.

Dr Jonathan Fox, of the US National Weather Service in
Spokane, Washington, said that it was even more spectacular
than the Northern Lights and that he feels lucky to have
seen it because it only forms in very rare situations.
This is the first one he's ever seen. It was a breathtaking
sight and it hung around for about an hour.

To create a rainbow of fire, clouds must be at least
20,000ft high and the ice crystals within them align
horizontally instead of their usual vertical position.
The sun also needs to be at least 58 degrees above the
horizon. Then, the magic can begin.

Source unknown

Btw, wanna know something about your birthstone? Click here.