Circumhorizontal arc in Paraguay
© Rodrigo Villamayor
This Sunday two atmospheric phenomena beautified the Paraguayan sky. They were a solar halo and circumhorizontal arc or cloud of fire. Despite their rarity, they are natural optical effects.

The phenomenon was captured by several people on Sunday in different departments of our country, which had a colorful morning thanks to the beautiful weather phenomenon that was shared on social networks.

Both the solar halo and the circumhorizontal arc atmospheric optical phenomena are produced by the behavior of the Sun with clouds. The first, also called Antelia or iris ring, is produced by the reflection of light of the sun on the ice crystal clouds.
Sun halo in Paraguay
© Eduardo Villalba
For its part, the circumhorizontal arc, also called rainbow of fire, occurs only when the sun is high in the sky, at least 58 ° above the horizon.

The difference in the common rainbow is that it is shorter, thicker and not caused by the refraction of light in water droplets, but through ice crystals in clouds.