Unusual Atmospheric Rainbow

Anna R. John writes,

Yesterday evening, when I looked up to the sky I noticed rainbow-like right above us. Photos #1, 2, 5, 7, and 8. On my right and left was white-ish colored (I don't know what to call it). Photos #3, 4, and 6. The one on the left side of me was brighter than the one on the right. It was interesting. I've seen rainbow-like around the sun or on side-to-side of the sun but never in this position. As the sun was setting it started to change formation and later on, it disappeared. Some people were saying cold weather or rain will soon happen. I don't know if it's related to weather, air, or space. Or might be all together. What is it? Is it a sign of something? (The photos I took are not in order when I loaded them so I put numbers in order that they were taken.)

LEO says:

A 22° halo is an optical phenomenon that belongs to the family of ice crystal halos, in the form of a ring with a radius of approximately 22° around the Sun or Moon. When visible around the moon it is called a moon ring or winter halo. It forms as the sun- or moonlight is refracted in millions of hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. A 22° halo may be visible on as many as 100 days per year—much more frequently than rainbows. Source: wikipedia

Resource:

By EarthSky in SPACE – What makes a halo around the sun or moon? There’s an old weather saying: ring around the moon means rain soon. There’s truth to this saying because high cirrus clouds often come before a storm. Halos are a sign of high thin cirrus clouds drifting 20,000 feet or more above our heads. The crystals have to be oriented and positioned just so with respect to your eye, in order for the halo to appear. Source: Why a halo around the sun or moon? | November 14, 2016

Photo caption:

NOAA Photo Library – Arcs, Dogs, and Halos, From top to bottom: Circumzenithal arc, supralateral arc, Parry arc, tangential arc, 22 degree halo, parhelic circle, and sun dogs on right and left intersection of 22 degree halo and parhelic circle. Location: South Pole Station, Antarctica. Photo by Lieutenant Commander Heather Moe, NOAA Corps.

22 Degree Halo – A 22 degree halo is a ring of light 22 degrees from the sun (or moon) and is the most common type of halo observed and is formed by hexagonal ice crystals with diameters less than 20.5 micrometers. Source: University of Ilinois, Weather World 2010 Project (WW2010).

Video:

Unsual Atomspheric Rainbow-like (Date of OBS, May 22, 2016)

After reviewing the photos taken by Anna John, I was able to determine there location by the use of the illistration provided. Produced by Moses Tcheripanoff. 2018.