Like an eye in the sky! The image above may look like the
illustration for a vintage science fiction movie, an astronaut
transfixed by an alien sun on a desolate planet. But no, it’s just
another day on Earth… better said in wondrous Antarctica. It’s a place
few will visit, which is perhaps why it feels so alien. The sky gives
the picture its extraterrestrial quality, but its cause is definitely of
this world. Clearly, the atmosphere was alive with crystals facing both
directions. An amazing eye in the sky opens up over Antarctica. By Christopher Michel
Photojournalist Christopher Michel’s
took the cinematic picture on a recent trip to Antarctica. He snapped
the photo just under a kilometer from the South Pole while out on the
ice with Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions, a company that helps with
science and tourism visits during the short Antarctic summer.
The bright sundog on Antarctica is right out of a Science fiction movie. By Christopher Michel
The phenomenon is known as a sun dog – or parhelion – and it happens
when there are hexagonal ice crystals in the air, tending to float
horizontally because in that position, they refract light so that it
appears there are two other baby suns flanking the real sun. When
crystals are more vertical, they create a halo around the original sun. A really strange sky over Antarctica. By Christopher Michel
Clearly, on this day, at this exact moment, the atmosphere was alive
with crystals facing both directions in the sky over Antarctica.
