SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Weather Phenomenon - Enormous Halo Seen Around The Moon In Horsham, Australia!

© Lynton Brown

April 15, 2016 - AUSTRALIA - Lynton Brown caught this 22-degree lunar halo this week and posted it to EarthSky Facebook.

We see many, many photos of this type of halo - both around the sun and moon - which happen all over the world due to the presence of ice crystals in high cirrus clouds.

Les Cowley of the website Atmospheric Optics wrote:

... 22-degree radius halos are visible all over the world and throughout the year.

Look out for them (eye care!) whenever the sky is wisped or hazed with thin cirrus clouds.

These clouds are cold and contain ice crystals in even the hottest climes.

The halo is large. Stretch out the fingers of your hand at arms length.

The tips of the thumb and little finger then subtend roughly 20 degrees.

Place your thumb over the the sun [or moon] and the halo will be near the little finger tip.

Thank you Lynton, for sharing this with us!

- Earth Sky.

WEATHER PHENOMENON: Signs In The Heavens - Amazing Sun Halo Seen In The Skies Over Bali, Indonesia!

This amazing sun halo appeared over Bali, Indonesia on November 14 2015.  © Shea D.

November 21, 2015 - BALI, INDONESIA - These incredible pictures were sent to Strange Sounds by Shea D., a follower of the blog.

This amazing sun halo appeared in the sky of Bali on November 14, 2015. Another sign for new extreme weather events to come?

Do you see the crossed rays coming from the sun?  © Shea D.

Here another shot of this extremely rare circumzenithal arc, also called a smile in the sky.  © Shea D.

Like some energy geysers flying out of the sun.   © Shea D.

Sometimes, rings around the moon or the sun may announce rain or a tropical storm coming soon as halos form through ice crystals which are usually present in high altitude cirrus clouds.

And these clouds arrive days before an advancing cold or warm front, which bring rain. It is to keep in mind that not all cirrus clouds are associated with storm systems.

Therefore most of the rings indicate an increase in water in the upper atmosphere. - Strange Sounds.

 

WEATHER PHENOMENON: Sun And Moon Halo - Ice Crystals And Sunbeams Create Stunning Luminous Ring Effect In The Heavens!

April 9, 2015 - SWEDEN - Ice crystals in high clouds have a beautiful effect on sunlight. Sunbeams that strike the crystals are bent into luminous rings called ice halos.

Moonbeams are affected the same way. Exactly the same way. Göran Strand proved it with this composite image above of the sun and Moon over Östersund, Sweden, on April 1st.

"During the day I took a photo of the 22° solar halo," says Strand. "And later that night, 10 hours later, when the Moon was in the same position in the sky, I took another shot from the same location, showing a 22° Moon halo.

Merging the two photos shows the halos are a perfect match." 22º radius halos are visible all over the world and throughout the year. The ice crystals that create them float 5 km to 10 km above the ground.

Those altitudes are always freezing even during the warmest months of summer.

Look for halos, night and day, whenever the sky is wisped with cold cirrus clouds. - Space Weather.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Most Stunning Phenomenon - Flickering "Fire Rainbows" Spotted In The Sky Over Arizona!

December 28, 2012 - UNITED STATES - Residents of Douglas in Arizona have been treated to a rare and stunning phenomenon - fire rainbows.  Caused when ice crystals splits sunlight into different colours, they cause the sky to flicker with colour.  Brandon Rios, who captured the amazing images with his father, said he was 'completely astonished' by the phenomenon.  

Fire rainbows, known by the proper name of circumhorizon arc, occur when the sun hits plate shaped ice
cystals in the clouds, causing the colours of sunlight to separate.

The colours appear to flicker in the sky and sunlight passes through the ice crystals.

'Although my father was the one to take the pictures I was with him at the time,' said Brandon after the pair spotted the rainbows over their home in Douglas, Arizona. 'He was going to get something that he left at work and when we came outside we were greeted by this beautiful sight.  'I was completely astonished to see a rainbow mixed in with the clouds.  'I didn't think something like this can exist.'

The flickering cloud rainbows form a variety of almost hypnotic shapes in the sky.

The phenomenon appears several times a year over the US, although is rare in Europe.

The clouds are seen several times a year in the US, although they are rare elsewhere in the world. Fire rainbows, known by the proper name of circumhorizon arc, occur when cirrus clouds are far enough up in the air to form plate-shaped ice crystals.  They are not actually rainbows, but a halo effect, although they are commonly referred to as fire rainbows.  When the sun is at the right angle it hits the top of these plates and splits into different colours that are viewable on the ground. - Daily Mail.