I was exploring Goblin Valley State Park in Utah when my wife noticed this halo around the sun. It was a warm day with a lot of cirrus clouds in the sky that are necessary to form halos. They are created when sunlight passes through randomly oriented, hexagonal ice crystals in in the clouds.
Photographer: Rick Scott
Date: June 22, 2014
Camera: Canon PowerShot G1 X digital camera
Lens: Internal 15.1-60.4 mm, set to 15.1mm
Exposure: 1/2000 second at f/8, ISO 100
Camera Mode: RAW
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6 for RAW conversion and image processing
Updated: January 20, 2015