Broadsheets

Top right shows a depiction of a moon halo phenomenon with both paraselenae and a light cross (horizontal circle + light pillar), below the sun with parhelia. The illustration is from Schedel's World Chronicle of 1493.

A spear appearing in the sky as a representation of a miraculous sign. A pen drawing from the 1503 work "On Miraculous Signs" by Jakob Mennel. Vienna, Austrian National Library The spear is very likely a sundog with a piece of the horizontal circle.

"two rainbows, which had colors Red, Green and Yellow with three Suns springing from the flames of the middle sun" Seen on Saturday before Christmas of the year 1509 in Prugk (today Fürstenfeldbruck) near Munich.

Above: Moon and Sun Halos on January 10 and 11, 1514. Below: A moon halo depiction with a 22° ring and both paraselenae on March 17, 1514 near Memmingen.

Various halo phenomena in the year 1520 in Vienna as harbingers of the flood.

Various halo phenomena in January 1520 in Vienna.

Halo phenomena with sundogs, 22° ring, parhelic circle, circumzenithal arc, and supralateral arc on January 04, 1541 in Ballingen. Printed by Matthias Brotbeihel Source: Pamphlet Collection Gustav Freytag (Microfilm No. 87)

Halo phenomena on March 21, 1551 with sundogs, 120°-sundog, parhelic circle, and another halo described as a "rainbow." Stefan Hamer, Nuremberg

22° ring, 46° ring, upper tangent arc, Parry arc, sundogs, circumzenithal arc, and horizontal circle. The illustration is from the book by Conradus Lycosthenes, "Prodigiorum ac osterum chronicon", Basel, 1557. This is just one of dozens of halo depictions from this remarkable book. It refers to a halo phenomenon seen in Antwerp on February 28, 1551.

Parhelia and "above the three suns a pale arc mixed with yellow which was almost compared to a rainbow". Seen on March 13, 1563 in Gengenbach, near Strasbourg. Thiebold Berger

Halo phenomenon from the year 1568 with both sundogs, 22° halo, and upper tangent arc.

"three suns and four rainbows" on January 12, 1580 in Nuremberg. These are the parhelia, the 22° halo, the upper tangent arc, and most likely the supralateral arc with the circumzenithal arc. Furthermore, a white cross is also reported. Hans Mack

Halo phenomenon on April 9, 1583, in Nuremberg. Sundogs and "above these suns appeared a great beautiful rainbow, touching the two sundogs. And further above, in the middle of the sky, towards the west, two other but smaller, and overlapping rainbows could be seen..."Printed by Matthäus Rauch

Very accurate depiction of a halo phenomenon with Wegener's anthelic arc (!) on July 23, 1589, in Hamburg. Printed by Heinrich Binder

Halo phenomenon on April 11, 1590 in Augsburg. "Sign, which appeared in colors like a rainbow in the evening between four and five o'clock by the sun in the sky" Printed by Hans Schultes the Elder.

Halo phenomenon on December 9, 1605, in Magdeburg. It is probably parhelia with the circumzenithal arc. The incorrect position of the halos could be due to the fact that no eyewitness was present during the design of the woodcut. The publisher was probably only informed of three suns and a rainbow, which he arranged according to his own imagination. Printed by Theodor Majus.

Halo phenomenon on March 22, 1615, in Nuremberg. It involves the 22° halo with sundogs, the upper tangent arc, the 46° halo and the circumzenithal arc. Johann Pfann

Halo phenomenon on March 22, 1615 in Eisenach, Frankfurt am Main, and Nuremberg. David Herlicius, "Brief, Natural and Historical Recap, Of the Pareliis or three suns, seen to some extent on March 22 of this 1615 year in Eisenach, Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg, as well as in Alten Stettin and other places on August 30: With 48 examples, when such a miracle occurred and what resulted from it" Gustav Freytag pamphlet collection (Microfilm No. 223).

The halo is described as a "beautifully colored sun and miracle arc." It could have been the 22° ring or a fully circumscribed halo. Seen on May 13, 1622 (noon).

Halo phenomenon on November 29, 1628, in Schwerin. The depiction bears little resemblance to real halos. Here is a text excerpt: "... as the sun had not yet fully risen, a mighty beautiful bright beam let itself be seen in the sky from the sun, upon which appeared another and false sun, above with two horns, on the right side with two fiery beams displayed, above which two rainbows appeared, one had its tips set in the northwest, the other in the southwest, in one to the right a beautiful bright and shiny star; between both rainbows, an ox or buffalo head with a crown was seen." Albrecht von Wallenstein

Six suns in the year 1628 over Hamburg. From: "The Rainbow on May 15, 1525 in the Light of Other Celestial Phenomena" by Diedrich Wattenberg.

Halo phenomenon on April 26, 1629, in Wittenberg. Visible are: horizontal circle, 22° halo, sundogs, upper and lower tangent arcs, as well as the left and right infralateral arcs.

Very precise depiction of a halo phenomenon with a 22° ring, sundogs, a horizontal circle, and the circumscribed halo. Observed on April 19, 1630, in Nuremberg. Two more prints from the same day exist (compare with the previous image and the next image). Published by Mauritius Hubertinus (astronomer and mathematician).

Halo phenomenon with 22° ring, sundogs, circumscribed halo, Parry arc, horizontal circle, and Wegener's counter-sun arc on April 19, 1630 in Nuremberg. The two prints before are from the same day.

Halo phenomena with circumscribed halo, sundogs, horizontal circle, and Wegener's anthelion arc on May 4, 1635 in Riga. Around 1780, carefully made copy of an old representation. Printed in "The Halo Phenomena" by Rudolf Meyer, published by Henri Grand 1921.

Halo phenomenon in Hersbruck near Nuremberg on February 14, 1645. Visible are: 22°-ring, parhelia, upper tangent arc, supralateral arc, and the circumzenithal arc.