Bengaluru Saw A Rare Sun Halo: Science Behind This Phenomenon Explained
People In Bengaluru Witnessed Sun Halo: Here's The Science Behind This PhenomenonPeople In Bengaluru Witnessed Sun Halo: Here's The Science Behind This Phenomenon
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.
ok this is just magical, a literal sun halo uff pic.twitter.com/B6s1Z1Zn92
¡ª despair stage of grief ?? (@magicanarchist) May 24, 2021
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Banglore city witnessed today a rainbow ring around Sun. This phenomenon is called ¡®22 degree Sun Halo¡¯.
¡ª Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) May 24, 2021
Such Sun or Moon halos are not so common however they have been witnessed earlier in the country in the past. #banglore #sunhalo pic.twitter.com/JeLfHp7AE3
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.
#bangalore sun halo
¡ª Dreams in melancholy. (@Descndingbatman) May 24, 2021
Credits- whatsapp ?? pic.twitter.com/B965zsyi7W
The Summer Sun Halo pic.twitter.com/a6fGlEIx0D
¡ª Jatin Topakar (@jatintop) May 24, 2021
This has to be by far the prettiest one from the lot.
Sun Halo today in Bangalore. #sunhalo #Bangalore #Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/Tj4WIFQMzT
¡ª Sriharsha Radhakrishna || ???????? (@parama_doota) May 24, 2021
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What is the sun's halo?
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.
Robert Green/ Marshall Lipp via EarthSky
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.
All kindsa drama in the skies above namma ooru #bengaluru #bangalore. #sunhalo #22DegreeHalo pic.twitter.com/bb2GaOZB1I
¡ª Arati Kumar-Rao (@AratiKumarRao) May 24, 2021
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.
