Prepare for your next solar viewing experience with eclipse-safe shades and filters.What Causes Solar Halos?
What creates these halos? The answer lies in tiny ice crystals! When atmospheric conditions are ideal, ice crystals form high up in the atmosphere, usually within cirrus clouds.
When sunlight encounters these ice crystals, it is refracted, reflected, and dispersed. As it passes through the prism-like structure of each crystal, light bends at an angle of 22°, creating a separation of colors in a halo effect, similar to how rainbows form after a shower. The position of the observer relative to the Sun influences the visibility of this effect.Before modern weather forecasting, solar halos were often used as indicators of approaching rain, as the cirrus and cirrostratus clouds that produce halos commonly precede a frontal system.Types of Solar Halos
Various types of solar halos can be seen, but three of the most common are the standard circular halo, sun dogs, and light pillars:
A unique halo can also be seen during a solar eclipse. This halo involves the Sun’s corona, the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, which is usually invisible due to the Sun’s intense brightness.
During a total eclipse, when the Moon blocks the Sun, the corona becomes visible as a delicate, whitish glow surrounding the darkened Sun. Scientists take advantage of these moments to observe the Sun’s corona, which helps advance our understanding of solar radiation, space weather, and potential impacts on Earth’s technology.Lunar Halos: A Nighttime Phenomenon
The Moon can also produce halos! Lunar halos occur under similar conditions to solar halos, when ice crystals high in the atmosphere reflect and refract moonlight. Lunar halos are more visible during colder months and when the Moon is full, offering a beautiful nighttime spectacle.
Further Exploration of Halos
Intrigued by solar halos? Explore light refraction and dispersion more with diffraction glasses, a fun and affordable way to see these effects up close. You can also prepare for a future solar eclipse to observe a corona halo with our certified solar viewing equipment, including eclipse shades, viewers, and filters for safe solar observation.
What creates these halos? The answer lies in tiny ice crystals! When atmospheric conditions are ideal, ice crystals form high up in the atmosphere, usually within cirrus clouds.
When sunlight encounters these ice crystals, it is refracted, reflected, and dispersed. As it passes through the prism-like structure of each crystal, light bends at an angle of 22°, creating a separation of colors in a halo effect, similar to how rainbows form after a shower. The position of the observer relative to the Sun influences the visibility of this effect.Before modern weather forecasting, solar halos were often used as indicators of approaching rain, as the cirrus and cirrostratus clouds that produce halos commonly precede a frontal system.Types of Solar HalosVarious types of solar halos can be seen, but three of the most common are the standard circular halo, sun dogs, and light pillars:
- 22° Halo: This is the most common type of halo, a full ring encircling the Sun at a 22° angle.
- Sun Dogs: Bright spots that appear on either side of the Sun, usually observed when the Sun is low on the horizon. They’re formed when flat, plate-like ice crystals near the ground reflect light.
- Light Pillars: These are vertical columns of light that appear near the Sun, typically caused by flat, hexagonal ice crystals falling and reflecting light in a way that aligns vertically.
A unique halo can also be seen during a solar eclipse. This halo involves the Sun’s corona, the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, which is usually invisible due to the Sun’s intense brightness.
During a total eclipse, when the Moon blocks the Sun, the corona becomes visible as a delicate, whitish glow surrounding the darkened Sun. Scientists take advantage of these moments to observe the Sun’s corona, which helps advance our understanding of solar radiation, space weather, and potential impacts on Earth’s technology.Lunar Halos: A Nighttime PhenomenonThe Moon can also produce halos! Lunar halos occur under similar conditions to solar halos, when ice crystals high in the atmosphere reflect and refract moonlight. Lunar halos are more visible during colder months and when the Moon is full, offering a beautiful nighttime spectacle.
Further Exploration of HalosIntrigued by solar halos? Explore light refraction and dispersion more with diffraction glasses, a fun and affordable way to see these effects up close. You can also prepare for a future solar eclipse to observe a corona halo with our certified solar viewing equipment, including eclipse shades, viewers, and filters for safe solar observation.
