No, not the video game, with which I am completely unfamiliar. This afternoon, there was a beautiful halo around the sun–not just parhelia (otherwise known as “sundogs”), but an actual, full halo. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to take any pictures, because I was nowhere near a camera, but I did get to watch it.

Halos are formed when ice crystals in the atmosphere align in such a way that they refract sunlight in a circle around the sun. Here in South Carolina, halos don’t happen too often because it’s not cold enough, although we do get the occasional sundog (the rainbow-looking thing to either side of the sun), and once a few years ago I got to see a full moon halo.

I’m not an atmospheric optics expert, although if I could be, I would be. These sort of phenomena fascinate me. Of course, the best halos occur in Antarctica, which is a little bit cold for me . . .