Multiple sun halos

Solar halo is a ring around the light source, formed by the refraction of light by ice crystals in the clouds. Saturday, February 1 photographer Jenn Williams shot sled dog race near Fairbanks, Alabama, and when after a morning of shooting, went home, saw on the way was something special.

"The street was -22 and the snow was swirling over the road and over the tops of the fir trees the sun was shining, surrounded by several halos," — said Williams.

Expert on atmospheric optics Les Crowley explains why the "increased" halo:

"Normal single halo produce ice crystals in the form of pencils — they are long, hexagonal, with straight ends. But sometimes in the atmosphere are formed pyramidal crystals, refracting sunlight is more diverse. Due to such crystals appear multiple halos of different radii".

The picture shows the halo with a radius of 18° inside the cluster halos with radii 20, 22, 23 and 24°. From pyramidal crystals can be up to 20 edges, so they rarely have the right shape and generally produce an extensive blurred halo.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»