The Path Less Traveled

Have you ever observed a strange ring encircling the Sun or the Moon when you look up at the sky? These fascinating optical phenomena, sometimes referred to as sun halos or 22-degree halos, are caused by sunlight refracting in millions of hexagon-shaped ice crystals hovering in the sky. We'll examine the science underlying sun halos in this blog. What Are Sun Halos? A sun halo is a ring that encircles the sun with a radius of around 22 degrees. It is an illusory, rainbow-colored phenomenon brought on by light's interaction with upper troposphere ice crystals. Usually hanging in clouds of cirrus or cirrostratus, these ice crystals provide ideal circumstances for the formation of halos. Let's explore the enchantment of sun halos in more detail.  How Are Sun Halos Created? Crystals of Ice in the Environment: When light travels through ice crystals hanging in the atmosphere, sun halos are created. These crystals are found in thin, high-altitude clouds called cirrus ...