SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Weather Phenomenon - Sun Halo Captured Over Jersey Shore, New Jersey!

Justin Louis

April 22, 2016 - NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES - If you've been out and about enjoying this beautiful spring day in Ocean County and happened to look up, you may have noticed the distinct rings around the sun.

So what are they?

We wanted to find out!

While it's nice and warm here on the ground at the Jersey Shore, the upper atmosphere is pretty cold. Cold enough for there to be ice crystals up there.

On a day like today, the conditions are just right to refract the Sun's rays through the ice crystals, causing the halo effect.

It's called a 22° halo, from the fact that the ring appears to be, "...within a radius of approximately 22° around the Sun".

It's actually pretty common, but on days like today, it's more obvious than others. - WOBM - 92.7.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Weather Phenomenon - Stunning Sun Halo Filmed Over Wirral, England!

April 22, 2016 - ENGLAND - This beautiful Sun Halo was spotted over Wirral today by regular weather contributor Kirsty Bakstad.

The sun halo was spotted as the region enjoyed a second day of sunny weather as Merseyside recorded a top temperature of 15.1C.


WATCH: Sun Halo over Wirral.

Although yesterday was hotter on Merseyside, today was officially the hottest day of the year for the UK, as Porthmadog in Wales enjoyed temperatures of 20.3C.

However, the recent warm weather will be short lived, as Arctic air will bring back the chillier weather in time for the weekend.

Wrap up warm! A cold plunge for the UK this weekend and continuing into next week https://t.co/I6aoncQMhZ
— Met Office (@metoffice) April 21, 2016

Sun Halos are caused when light interacts with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere.

The crystals bend direct sunlight, dispersing the light into colours and projecting it elsewhere into the sky, at a usual 22 degree angle a halo can be seen around the sun.

They often do mean that rain is going to fall within the next 24 hours as the cirrostratus clouds that cause them can signify an approaching frontal system. - Wirral Weather.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Weather Phenomena - Rare Sun Dogs Seen Over Calama And Antofagasta, Chile! [PHOTOS]

First sundogs appeared. © Alerta Roja/Facebook

February 18, 2016 - CHILE - Rare sundogs accompanied by a reverse rainbow stunned residents of Calama and Antofagasta, Chile on February 17, 2016.

As if the parhelia was smiling at us from the sky. So we have seen three different kinds of atmospheric phenomena in these pictures...

Sundogs or parhelia which consists of a pair of bright spots on either side on the Sun. Circumzenithal arc which is an optical phenomenon similar in appearance to a reverse rainbow.

Then a circumzenithal arc appeared over the parhelia. © Alerta Roja/Facebook

First sundogs appeared.  © Alerta Roja/Facebook

On top as well as below the tripping star. Is that a circumhorizontal arc? © Facebook

Here another more colorful picture of this circumhorizontal arc over Antofagasta.  © Facebook

© Facebook

And again some iridescent clouds. Or I believe them to be a circumhorizontal arc. What about you?  © Facebook

And finally a circumhorizontal arc which in its full form appear like a large, brightly spectrum-coloured band running parallel to the horizon, located below the Sun or Moon.

All these sky phenomena are members of a large family of halos, created by light interacting with ice crystals or rain in the atmosphere. - Strange Sounds.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Stunning Weather Phenomena In Ontario, Canada - "Sun Dog" Sparkles Along Orangeville Skyline And Morning "Sun Dog" Captures Attention Of Residents In Caledon! [PHOTOS]

Local photographer Rose Knott managed to capture an image of a sun dog near Mono early Saturday morning (Feb. 13).© Rose Knott

February 15, 2016 - ONTARIO, CANADA - Mother Nature has treated residents in the Orangeville area to a relatively uncommon atmospheric phenomenon only seen a few times every year.

After a band of snow squalls moved through Dufferin County last night, the skies cleared to reveal a parhelion — informally nicknamed a sun dog — near Mono early Saturday morning (Feb. 13).

Local photographer Rose Knott managed to capture an image of the uncommon occurrence early Saturday morning.

"I've never seen a sun dog. It was just so exciting to me," she posted on Facebook. "Just felt so thrilled to capture this."

Sun dogs are formed when sunlight refracts off ice crystals in the atmosphere, creating bright spots on either side of the sun. In some cases, a rainbow-shaped halo can be seen connecting these bright pillars beside the sun.

"It is more the ice crystals high up in the atmosphere that create the phenomena," Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson told The Banner last year. "When those ice crystals reflect the sunlight at a certain angle, it can form these sun dogs."

Cold air isn't a preamble to a sundog, as Coulson said they could appear pretty much year round. They usually occur in the morning when the sun is rising or when it is setting in the evening.

"What you're really looking for is relatively cloud free conditions," Coulson said. "To be able to view it, you really would had to be within sort of the breaks in the flurry activity to actually see the sun and the phenomena itself." - Orangeville Banner.

Morning 'sun dog' captures attention of residents in Caledon, Ontario

© Lori Makarewicz

Residents across Caledon were looking to the skies Thursday morning (Feb. 11) as a unique 'sun dog' cast a spherical glow on the landscape.

"It certainly was a beautiful sight this morning, wasn't it?" local resident, Lori Makarewicz said to The Enterprise. "I have never seen one like that before. I almost got frostbite by standing out in my sandals on the front lawn, didn't want to waste any time looking for my boots in case I missed it!"

According to Environment Canada meteorologist, Rebecca Wagner, "sun dogs" which are also classified as parhelion, halos, or "mock suns," are an optical effect caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere.

"In particular this morning we had a very well developed halo around the sun with two bands with bright spots on either side of the sun, at about the same elevation," she continued.

© Gordon Bentley

While they technically occur any time of the year, sun dogs appear more vividly in the winter due to the combination of ice crystals in the atmosphere and the low angle of the sun in the sky - and even still, are usually only spotted about two to three times a year.

As the sun rises in the sky, the halo diminishes as the angle of the light hitting the ice crystals changing. Bolton resident, Craig Kellough, spotted the unique optical effect over the North Hill of town.

"I was driving into Bolton around 9 a.m. when I saw this spectacular scene in the sky surrounding the sun," he said. "I had to pull over and take as many shots as I could. It was something I had never seen before."

According to Wagner, with the chilly temperatures and clear skies predicted for this weekend, there might be another in store for those who missed Thursday morning's display. - Caledon Enterprise.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Weather Phenomenon - Stunning Sun Halo Appears In The Sky Over Wuhan, China! [PHOTOS]

January 29, 2016 -WUHAN, CHINA - Residents of a regional Chinese town were left amazed by a huge, bright solar halo which seemed to crown a Buddhist temple monument.

The naturally-occurring marvel appeared above the Guiyuan Buddhist Temple in Wuhan, central China, on January 26 and lit up the sky with its colours, according to a report from People's Daily Online.

The rare 'Buddha's halo', which appears like a circular rainbow, rendered local people awe-struck and gazing up into the atmosphere.

Chinese social media lit up when a similar phenomenon appeared above Beijing in September 2015, with many not understanding it.

Solar halos, also known as 'sundogs' or 'mock suns', are caused by bright sunlight refracting through thin Cirrostratus clouds in the sky.

The official given name is 'pathelia' and the spectacle begins to be formed when rays of light pass through ice crystals 20,000 feet up. - Daily Mail.

WEATHER PHENOMENON: Omen - Utah Storms Bring Sun Halos And Sundogs!

© stgeorgenews.com

May 23, 2015 - UTAH, UNITED STATES - With recent storms moving through Southern Utah on a weekly basis, conditions have been good for seeing two fascinating sights in the sky: sun halos and sundogs.

St. George resident Janna Fox was lucky enough to spot a sun halo Sunday, from her driveway at around 900 South and River Road.

"My 13-year-old son saw it first and came in and told us," Fox told St. George News. "I had never seen a sun halo before, in my 35 years! It was neat!"

Both sun halos and sundogs are caused by sunlight passing through ice crystals in the high, thin cirrus clouds that often move in before a storm system. Sunlight reflects and bends, or refracts, causing these sometimes spectacular sights.

These ice-crystal displays can be seen year-round, because the upper atmosphere always below a freezing temperature.

A ring or circle of light around the sun or moon is called a halo, or, for the more scientifically minded, a parhelic circle or ring.

Sundogs are rainbow-colored splashes often seen to the left or right of the sun. Sundogs are also known as parhelions, and are formed by plate-shaped ice crystals drifting in the clouds, according to NASA.com.

© Janna Fox, St George News

Cirrus clouds are made of millions of hexagonal ice crystals 3 miles to 6 miles up in the atmosphere. Each ice crystal acts as a tiny prism bending the sun's light and throwing it elsewhere into the sky. The spectacular displays in the sky depend on the size and tilt of the ice crystals.

There's an old weather saying, "ring around the moon means rain soon," and there is truth to that, according to Earthsky.org. High thin cirrus clouds often precede a storm system, at 20,000 feet. These clouds contain ice crystals, by the millions. The halos are caused by both refraction and reflection of sunlight.

Sundogs and sun halos are just two of nearly four dozen different kinds of effects produced by sunlight interacting with ice crystals in the sky.

So when's the best way to catch one of these beauties in the sky? Both sun halos and sundogs may be seen whenever and wherever there are cirrus clouds in the sky.

The best displays are most commonly seen in the fall, winter and spring when the northern jet stream descends southward, drawing down Arctic air masses that carry ice crystals.

Sundogs are found at or more than 22 degrees to the left or right of the sun and at the same height above the horizon as the sun.

Because sundogs and sun halos are found near the sun, viewers should protect their eyes while viewing. - St. George Utah.

 

WEATHER PHENOMENON: Omen - Solar Halo Glistens Over Mexico City Landmarks!

A solar halo in Mexico City has got people talking. According to meteorologists, the weather phenomenon creates rainbows
around the sun and is formed by the reflection of ice crystals

May 22, 2015 - MEXICO - A solar halo appeared in Mexico City on Thursday - prompting dozens of calls from worried locals to meteorologists.

The phenomenon, which is actually an optical illusion, is caused when sunlight passes through ice crystals, causing the light to bend into a colourful ring.

Not satisfied with this scientific explanation, locals on social media claimed that an alien invasion was nigh, while other conspirators suggested the government was attempting to blind voters ahead of an election.

The halo was spotted in three cities, most notably above the capital's most famous landmark, the Angel of Independence.

Juan Manuel Caballero, of the National Weather Service, said he had received about 30 phone calls from people who thought it was a "bad omen".

He explained: "It's very common. The thing is that people never look up." - SKY News.

 

WEATHER PHENOMENON: "Circumhorizontal Arc" - Rare Rainbow Phenomenon Appears In Tennessee Sky?!

© Wate.com

May 17, 2015 - TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES - As you look up into the sky, you will see a different view each day.

Many saw a fairly rare weather phenomenon Thursday called a circumhorizontal arc, which may look similar to a sun halo, but it's not the same thing.

A number of viewers sent in photos of the circumhorizontal arc, but many didn't understand what exactly was in the sky.

© Wate.com

© Wate.com

© Wate.com

The sun refracts off of ice crystals in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds to form a spectrum-colored band.

The arc was either in full or close to that Thursday, resulting in a well-defined spectrum-colored band running parallel to the horizon below the sun.

We also need a high sun angle, so the sunlight can hit the ice crystals at the needed angle or 58 degrees or more.

Since our days are getting longer, we met that requirement and most of the viewer pictures were taken around midday.

In some cases, the arc may appear as a fire rainbow, but that is not the correct way to identify what happened. - WATE.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Solar Halos - Heavenly Pictures Show The Sun Ringed By A HALO Over Tibet!

March 15, 2013 - TIBET - Looking at these pictures it is perhaps unsurprising that a new Pope has been elected.  Thanks to a rare phenomenon the blazing sun has been pictured over Tibet looking as if it is wearing a halo.  The bizarre bright ring also makes it look like as though a huge eye is in the sky.  Also known as a 'sundog', a solar halo is a distant cousin of a rainbow caused by sunlight shining through a thin layer of cloud called Cirrostratus, which is made up of millions of tiny ice crystals.

Angelic: This incredible halo around the Sun was captured by a Russian photographer as she travelled across the Tibetan desert.

The thin cloud cover is up anywhere about 9km above sea level where the temperature is between minus 30C and minus 35C.  The spectacular images were taken by Russian photographer Elena Belozorova who spotted the extraordinary sight while driving to Darchen city.   The 38-year-old from Vologda said it was a truly magical moment.   'I have seen lots of things in my life but I've never seen anything like this before,' she said.

How they form: Also known as a 'sundog', a solar halo is a distant cousin of a rainbow caused by sunlight shining through a thin layer of cloud called Cirrostratus, which is made up of millions of tiny ice crystals.

The phenonemen is officially called a pathelia but is also known as a 'sundog', 'halo' or 'mock sun'. The sight is more commonly seen when the sun is low in the sky and not in the middle of the day.  Cultures around the globe have traditionally given great significance and meaning to a sun dog when they see one.  In medieval times and early aboriginal forecasting halos were a sign of rain on its way - with rain predicted for Friday when the halo will disappear.

'We were stunned': Miss Belozorova said even her local guides were amazed to see the halo form.

Portentous: Cultures around the globe have traditionally given great significance to the phenomena.

'The light in Tibet is very special, it's fantastic. I've never seen such colours in the sky before. It was all so clear and vivid,' said Ms Belozorova.  'The sky is very changeable, every minute there is a different light or pattern.  'We saw the halo as it was created and transformed. We were stunned.  'Even our guides were totally amazed. It looked like a huge eye and occupied half of the sky.  'It almost looked like the entrance to another world.'  - Daily Mail.