Sun Halo: See what is mysterious ring around the Sun witnessed in Prayagraj

In a rare celestial event, a mysterious ring could be seen around the Sun in the skies recently by many people in some parts of Uttar Pradesh (UP), India.

The ring, which was multi-colored and looked like a rainbow enveloping the star of our solar system, is called the sun halo. It is also known as the 22-degree-ring halo.

Seen for a few hours in several parts of the state, the mysterious ring was not just noticed but also captured on camera by many people.

How did the ring get formed?

The rare event, where a multi-colored ring appears to encircle the star, occurs due to the delicate dance of optics and light in collaboration with the icy particles in the clouds.
The ring gets witnessed with the help of a process called dispersion of light.

What is sun halo?

A sun halo is an optical phenomenon, which happens when sunlight passes with unique hexagonal ice crystals in the atmosphere. It results in a bright ring or halo encircling the sun, which has a radius of around 22 degrees.

The unique hexagonal ice crystals, which are found in cirrus clouds. These are thin and wispy clouds. When sunlight passes through the ice crystals, it gets refracted or bent by the surface of the crystals. This bending of light causes rays of the sun to disintegrate into different colors, resulting in a spectrum of colors, which is visible as the halo.

The light undergoes two refractions when it passes through these crystals. The bending that happens depends on the diameter of the ice crystal.

Seen in Prayagraj, this 22-degree halo happens when light enters from one side of the ice crystal and exits through another. It gets refracted on both the entry and the exit.

FAQs

Q1:What is the radius of the sun halo?
The sun halo has a radius of around 22 degrees.

Q2:Where was the sun halo seen?
The sun halo was seen in Prayagraj.