But what he didn’t expect was to take a photograph that would cause a sensation online.
The resulting photographs, which capture striking halos around the sun, went viral after he posted one toTwitter.
What followed were a flurry of explanations about why, and how, these rings appear around the sun.
While we often think of a halo as being exclusively circular, they can actually take many different shapes.
From arcs to light pillars, some are more common than others.
Looking at his diagram, it’s incredible to see how many halo examples were captured in one image.
Read more about Schneider’s experience on hisblogand see more photographs from his time on the mountain below.
While skiing in Switzerland, Michael Schneider captured an incredible photo of light halos on the mountain.
This annotation helps explain the different light phenomena seen in the image.
Illustration:Mark McCaughrean
