Lights gets the bends : showtime optics for sky observers : a sky observers primer, explaining basic concepts for a better understanding of the phenomena seen in our skies -- Daily pageantry : scenery production, the twilight show, and the supporting cast : the ever-changing colors of the sky, the east and west views of the twice-daily twilight show, and the noteworthy contributions of clouds to the scenic skyscape -- Many-splendored rings : rainbows, coronas, and glories : a fascinating tableau of water-colored rings amid changing and capricious weather -- Crowning radiances : halos, arcs, and company : crystal geometry, radiant crownpieces to a spectacular sky -- Apparitions, specters, and phantasmagoria : mirages and refractive deeds : bizarre and perverted phantasmagorical fabrications, rendered in glorious natural technicolor by the ordinary action of visible light with air -- Fire in the sky : lightning and other discharges : the boldly erratic and tantalizingly beautiful electric light show -- Glorious incandescence : polar auroras and airglow : twisting and undulating wisps, bands, streaks, and curtains of spirited spectacle.