Today, citizens of Bengaluru were greeted by a strange phenomenon. When people looked up into the sky, the sun had a halo-like ring right next to it.?
The phenomenon put the sun in the centre of a massive rainbow circle that looked as if a planet larger than our star was right behind it, giving breathtaking as well as slightly eerily vibes.?This was shared by several citizens on Twitter.?
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While there were some who just showed the halo in all its beauty, some took things up a notch and looked at this halo from a slightly creative lens.?
This has to be by far the prettiest one from the lot.?
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According to EarthSky.org, the sun¡¯s halo, also known as the 22-degree halo in the scientific world, occurs when the atmosphere has the presence of high cirrus clouds in the sky. The clouds are often really thin in density and these contain millions of tiny hexagonal ice crystals. The halo is visible due to the refraction and reflection of light through these ice crystals.?
This, however, only works depending on the positioning of the crystals in accordance with your eye. Only at the right positioning and angle can these halos be visible. In the sun halo spotted in Bengaluru, the light enters from one side of the ice crystal and exits from the other. The two refractions bend the light by 22 degrees.?
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According to EarthSky, high cirrus clouds come right before a storm, so it looks like Bengaluru might not have to wait for long to experience the monsoon. Moreover, photographer Arati Kumar Rao also captured this in breathtaking detail.
The image shows the thin cirrus clouds at the edge of the halo ring.?
Did you manage to witness the sun halo today in Bengaluru? What was your experience like? Tell us in the comments below.