What’s A Sun Halo?
Ever seen a ghostly ring around the Sun? Read what they're all about and why they form.
Ever seen a ghostly rainbow halo around the Sun?
A Sun halo is caused by the refraction, reflection, and dispersion of light through ice particles suspended within thin, wispy, high altitude cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. As light passes through these hexagon-shaped ice crystals, it is bent at a 22° angle, creating a circular halo around the Sun. The prism effect of light passing through these six-sided ice crystals also separates the light into its various color frequencies, making the halo look like a very pale rainbow, with red on the inside and blue on the outside.
Folklore tells us Sun halos can predict the weather:
A ring around the Sun or Moon
means rain or snow is coming soon.
Sundog?
Occasionally, brighter areas will form along these halos, creating a mock Sun, or “sundog.” Sundogs are known as parhelia (or the singular parhelion) to astronomers, from the Greek words meaning “beside the Sun.”
Have you ever seen a sun halo, mock sun, or other interesting sights? Share in the comments below!
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
Same one but a bit later
Caught my first one today! In Spain, Vacarisses.
Saw this yesterday
10:45 am ring around the sun in Santa Paula California 5/9/2022
Sun halo
Ring around the sun in Bayahibe Dominican Republic on 4/23/22 2:30 pm
Kansas City MO, 4/10.
Sun Halo seen in Eastern Part of Ethiopia Today
Saw sun halo in Worcester, Massachusetts on 4/5/22
I captured a halo picture in Columbia.
Rainbow around the sun, March 13, 2022 12:52 p m
Rainbow around the sun, march 13, 2022 12:52 p m
Have seen one today ring around (halo) the sun. Nakuru Kenya
Saw one yesterday (Feb 15, 2022) in Indian Rocks Beach FL
Saw one a couple weeks ago in Charlotte North Carolina! Saw the halo and the sun dog. Amazing!!
Sundog
I seen 2 in the last 5 days
Amazing
Had to pull over for this Amazing Work of Art!!
Saw a sundog this morning with my mom in South Dakota. Very cool!🌈✨🐶❤️
Saw a rainbow around the sun on 12/29/21 in San Marcos Tx. So cool !! It didnt look like other photos I’ve seen of sun halos.
Beautiful!
My husband and I was traveling to Phoenix Arizonia and stopped at a rest area. While being attracted to the rock mountain and decried to take a photo I look up at the sun and Wow what an AMAZING SCENE THAT TOOK MY BREATH AWAY!! The sun was surrounded with a ring around it! After reading upon it I learned it ws a HALO RING!!! It was such AN AMAZING SIGHT!!
My Son and I were driving from Montgomery Al. To home in Fort Walton beach FL. Saturday 12/27/2021 and seen beautiful colors our from the sun and what appeared as a circle around the entire sun. We kept driving till we could get a few clear pictures and realized a circle around the sun and on the left and right side of the sun in the line of the circle it’s self were two light rainbow colored places that looked they were marking the half point of the circle.
It was beautiful to see! I was amazed and could not stop looking at it. The sun was blinding but the event it’s self was worth the tempperary discomfort to my eyes!
Pamela.
Sun Halo amd Dogs
Manchester, CT
Palmer Lake, CO 11/14/21
Dawsonville GA
I saw this today in New Hampshire.
Saw one today in Massachusetts.
Saw one today in Eastport Maine! Very exciting, all my grandkids saw it too.
I saw one too.
I’ve just seen one today in Montreal!
I saw one today here in the Philippines…
My Grade 4/5 class saw this one today, in Surrey, BC, Canada. The photo doesn’t really do it justice.
Saw this in Idaho Falls earlier today!
Beautiful!
Saw this yesterday in CT. I took the pic with my phone
Saw this today
Just saw one in Hyderabad,india
Today in Tillamook Oregon
Saw one today in surry maine
Got one going on at mo. Swansea South Wales.
No its not! it’s in Porthcawl! lol
Told Ya!
Saw one today 27th May in leixlip Co kildare ireland
That’s fantastic, Bob!
Saw it in Felixstowe too today!
Saw one today in Lisburn. N Ireland around 1.30 pm
Just saw a sun ring in Natchez, Mississippi.
I saw a sun ring or sun dog I live in LISTOWEL Ontario
Just saw one in waterloo,ny
Just seen my first sun halo in South West France at 14:00 20/05/2021.
Saw this today, 5-19-2021, in western kansas!
I spotted a halo yesterday in Cancun Mexico
Cancún, Mexico 5/17/21
From my deck on May 13, 2021. I knew of sun halos (only recently), but had never seen one. After an unsettling day, it felt like a gift. (photo didn’t link. )
What is the blue dot?
Anytime you take a picture of the moon or sun, people seem to get that same blue dot. It’s some sort of reflection.