April 20, 2014 - SPACE - Dozens of WESH 2 viewers sent pictures of a mysterious ring or "rainbow" around the sun Wednesday afternoon.
So what was it?
A sun halo is caused by a refraction of sunlight passing through ice crystals in cirrus clouds within the Earth's atmosphere. It forms what looks like a circular rainbow around the sun.
A NASA official told WESH 2 that when ice crystals come together randomly, it forms a halo, which is what was seen today.
The other type of phenomenon that can occur through ice coming together is a "sun dog," which happens when ice crystals form vertically and a bright spot forms on a halo. - WESH.
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A halo around the sun appeared in Central Florida.© Matthew Salvati
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So what was it?
A sun halo is caused by a refraction of sunlight passing through ice crystals in cirrus clouds within the Earth's atmosphere. It forms what looks like a circular rainbow around the sun.
A NASA official told WESH 2 that when ice crystals come together randomly, it forms a halo, which is what was seen today.
The other type of phenomenon that can occur through ice coming together is a "sun dog," which happens when ice crystals form vertically and a bright spot forms on a halo. - WESH.
