Sun halo in New Hampshire
© Kim Nelson CarstensenSun halo in Nashua, New Hampshire
In all parts of the region Sunday afternoon, people saw a glowing ring around the sun.

Between 1 and 3 p.m., dozens of pictures were posted to social media from the seacoast to the Monadnock Region.

This is known as a 'sun halo' and occurs when sunlight passes through ice crystals high in the sky. The light is refracted by the ice crystals, and its straight path is bent in a 22 degree angle.

These situations most frequently occur when high-altitude cirrus clouds arrive on the leading edge of a storm system, exactly the case in New Hampshire on Sunday.