How I Photographed a Pollen Corona at Sunset

Terri Sharp

On 5 January 2007, my phone rang. My Mother Eugenia ("Tex") Sharp was out of breath and trying to tell me something. Alarmed, I started walking to her condo next door to mine. Finally she sputtered, "Look outside over your balcony!"

We both have balconies that face southwest across the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas. I ran back inside and then stepped outside on my balcony. What I saw was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. Against a clear, darkening blue sky was a setting sun with multiple rainbows crowning it like a celestial halo.

I called my Mother back and said, "I've never seen anything like it. What is it?" She said she didn't know, and I raced for my camera., a digital Sony Mavica, one of the early digital cameras. I took as many pictures as the disc would hold.

Figures 1 and 2. This exotic and rare pollen corona was caused by juniper pollen in the Texas Hill Country. Photographs by Terri Sharp.

I wondered where the rainbows could have come from, since there had been no rain and it had been a beautiful hill country sky all day. The pictures didn't come anywhere near capturing the spectacular beauty that we had watched disappearing into the horizon, but I was happy to have a permanent record instead of just a mental memory. I was so in awe with the milagro (miracle or surprise) that I made one of the pictures my computer background.

On the morning of January 16, my Father Bill Sharp showed me the article written by Forrest Mims on pollen coronas in his "Country Scientist" column on the science page of The San Antonio Express-News (15 January 2007). I was so excited to see the picture that Forrest had taken of a pollen corona at noon the same day I saw the rainbows around the sun, and I instantly knew what my camera had captured.

But I was puzzled about the time of my sighting, which was at sunset at about 5:45 PM. Forrest's article stated that the phenomenon of a pollen corona only appears at noon in a clear sky. So I emailed him immediately, and sent my pictures. He verified that the photos showed a pollen corona, and wrote that he had never seen one at sunset.

My Dad, an Ancient Mariner, old salt Navy veteran, always taught me to look up to a night sky and see the magnificence of the moon, stars, and planets. My Mom always encouraged me to see the beauty in all of nature. We are a family of "oohers" and "aahers" when it comes to sunrises and sunsets and all in between. I'm just glad my camera was loaded and my battery was charged. That pretty much sums up to my motto in life. "Keep your equipment in working order, your batteries charged, your eyes open, expect, and be ready for a miracle."