Theme: Energy
Award: Highly Commended
Photographer: Kiran Thapa
Whilst on vacation abroad, I was able to capture this ephemeral moment. What is pictured, is known as a sun halo, which is an optical phenomenon. It forms as sunlight is refracted through cirrostratus clouds, which are mainly composed of small ice crystals. It is the small ice crystals which refract the sunlight in the upper atmosphere, this refraction creates the spectrum of colours (in this case, however in most cases only a white ring is seen). Sun halos, along with other atmospheric phenomena were previously used as means to forecast weather, although is now succeeded by meteorology. The sun being the Earth\’s principal energy source makes this photo, in my opinion very relevant to the topic of energy. Although it may not quite be a mind-blowingly spectacular phenomenon nor particularly infrequent, having been fortunate enough to witness the occurrence, I do believe it demonstrates the intrinsic beauty of nature that possesses ability to spark fascination.