Ethereal 'halo' and light arcs around the sun captured in photos of ultra-rare phenomena

This image of the sun surrounded by shining halos and arcs of light was captured May 28 at Belfast's Botanic Gardens. (Image credit: Alan Fitzsimmons)

A scientist recently snapped a series of shining arcs and halos of light surrounding the sun in the sky above the U.K., including an exceptionally rare ring of light that circled the entire sky.

Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, captured the unusual light show above Belfast's Botanic Gardens on May 28. The display lasted around 30 minutes, Fitzsimmons told Live Science.