The days only get longer from here! The Northern Hemisphere marks the beginning of winter today, but the winter solstice is also the shortest day of the year. The rainbow that encircles the sun in our image, a sun halo, is above Lake Antermoia, in the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy. Sun halos form when sun or moon light shines through ice crystals suspended in the upper atmosphere. When the light of the sun hits the crystals they serve as a prism, separating the light into individual colors of the spectrum, the same way rainbows occur after a rain shower.
Winter solstice
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Crescent Lake near Dunhuang, China
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Summer solstice
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Hallstatt, Austria
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Life in a North African town
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Red deer stag in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
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Red deer stag in Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
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Welcome to the Hoh
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Big Bend National Park in Texas turns 81
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World Architecture Day
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Aýna, Albacete, Spain
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Cherry blossoms at the National Mall, Washington, DC
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Pont dArcole over the Seine river, Paris, France
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Necropolis of Dargavs
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Atlantic puffin, Iceland
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Last stop before leaving the solar system
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Craters of the Moon centennial
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Going with the floe
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A glittering diamond in the rough
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SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
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Moselle River loop near Kröv, Germany
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Happy birthday to Crater Lake National Park
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Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia
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Surf s always up in Paia
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A winter light show
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Traveling warblers
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Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, France
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Menton, France
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Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii
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Paleontology meets art
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The Alhambra in Granada, Spain
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

