Optical phenomenon

Optical phenomena are any observable events that result from the interaction of light and matter.

[1] Common optical phenomena are often due to the interaction of light from the Sun or Moon with the atmosphere, clouds, water, dust, and other particulates.

Optical phenomena encompass a broad range of events, including those caused by atmospheric optical properties, other natural occurrences, man-made effects, and interactions involving human vision (entoptic phenomena).

A famous example is the bending of starlight by the Sun during a solar eclipse, a phenomenon that serves as evidence for the curvature of space as predicted by the theory of relativity.

Some[weasel words] consider many of these "mysteries" to simply be local tourist attractions that are not worthy of thorough investigation.

A 22° halo around the Moon in Atherton, California
A solar halo as seen from 41° south latitude
A circumzenithal arc over Grand Forks, North Dakota
The Belt of Venus over Paranal Observatory atop Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert , northern Chile [ 3 ]
Crepuscular rays at sunrise in Malibu, California
Green flash appears above the solar disc for a second or so. One such occurrence was taken from Cerro Paranal .