Photo of the Week for February 21, 2014

During mid-January over much of eastern Canada, extreme cold prevented most amateur astronomers from doing any astrophotography. However, many saw — and sent images — of solar halos and sundogs. Created when ice crystals of the type that form cirrus clouds refract sunlight, halos are common during winter days. Gerhard Salhenegger captured this halo on the morning of January 23, from near Renfrew, Ontario. He used a Canon PowerShot SX50 HS camera, taking a 1/1600-second exposure at f/8 and ISO 80.