2018 December 21

Extraordinary Solar Halos
* Image Credit & Copyright: Magnus Edback
https://www.astrobin.com/users/Magnusedback/

Explanation:
Welcome to the December Solstice, the first day of winter in planet Earth's northern hemisphere and summer in the south. To celebrate, consider this extraordinary display of beautiful solar ice halos! More common than rainbows, simple ice halos can be easy to spot, especially if you can shade your eyes from direct sunlight. Still it's extremely rare to see anything close to the complex of halos present in this astounding scene. Captured at lunchtime on a cold December 14 near Utendal, Sweden the image includes the relatively ordinary 22 degree halo, sundogs (parhelia) and sun pillars. The extensive array of rarer halos has been identified along with previously unknown features. All the patterns are generated as sunlight (or moonlight) is reflected and refracted in flat six-sided water ice crystals in Earth's atmosphere. In this case, likely local contributors to the atmospheric ice crystals are snow making machines operating at a nearby ski center.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181221.html

#space #earth #halos #athmosphere #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education

>> annotated version of previous image

Diamond Dust Sky Eye
* Image Credit & Copyright: Jaroslav Fous

#space #earth #halos #athmosphere #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education

2024 December 25

Diamond Dust Sky Eye
* Image Credit & Copyright: Jaroslav Fous

Explanation:
Why is there a huge eye in the sky? Diamond dust. That is an informal term for small ice crystals that form in the air and flitter to the ground. Because these crystals are geometrically shaped, they can together reflect light from the Sun or Moon to your eyes in a systematic way, causing huge halos and unusual arcs to appear. And sometimes, together the result can seem like a giant eye looking right back at you. In the featured image taken in the Ore Mountains of the Czech Republic last week, a bright Moon rising through ice fog-filled air resulted in many of these magnificent sky illusions to be visible simultaneously. Besides Moon dogs, tangent arcs, halos, and a parselenic circle, light pillars above distant lights are visible on the far left, while Jupiter and Mars can be found just inside the bottom of the 22-degree halo.
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-diamond-dust.html
https://communitycloudatlas.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/colorful-arcs-in-the-sky/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160321.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180914.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parhelic_circle

>> annotated version see next post <<
.. if you like TOPICS like this you might want to see my TOPIC>Lists:
https://defcon.social/@grobi/114810788357770292

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241225.html

#space #earth #halos #athmosphere #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education

Et voilà l'article : tout savoir (ou presque) sur les halos !

#bloggb #science #halos #optique

https://gblanc.fr/blog/science/2025-12-23-halos