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  2. Halo (optical phenomenon) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(optical_phenomenon)

    A halo (from Ancient Greek ἅλως (hálōs) 'threshing floor, disk') [ 1 ] is an optical phenomenon produced by light (typically from the Sun or Moon) interacting with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. Halos can have many forms, ranging from colored or white rings to arcs and spots in the sky.

  3. 22° halo - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22°_halo

    22° halo around the Moon. A 22° halo is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a halo with an apparent diameter of approximately 22° around the Sun or Moon. Around the Sun, it may also be called a sun halo. [1] Around the Moon, it is also known as a moon ring, storm ring, or winter halo. It forms as sunlight or moonlight is ...

  4. Sun dog - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog

    The sun dog is a member of the family of halos caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sun dogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22° to the left and right of the Sun, and at the same altitude above the horizon as the Sun. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any ...

  5. Glory (optical phenomenon) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_(optical_phenomenon)

    Glory around the shadow of a plane. The position of the glory's centre shows that the observer was in front of the wings. A glory is an optical phenomenon, resembling an iconic saint 's halo around the shadow of the observer's head, caused by sunlight or (more rarely) moonlight interacting with the tiny water droplets that comprise mist or clouds.

  6. Cloud iridescence - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_iridescence

    Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun or Moon. The colors resemble those seen in soap bubbles and oil on a water surface. It is a type of photometeor. This fairly common phenomenon is most often observed in altocumulus, [1] cirrocumulus, lenticular ...

  7. Circumhorizontal arc - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumhorizontal_arc

    A circumhorizontal arc is an optical phenomenon that belongs to the family of ice halos formed by the refraction of sunlight or moonlight in plate-shaped ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, typically in actual cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. In its full form, the arc has the appearance of a large, brightly spectrum-coloured band (red being ...

  8. Rainbow - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow

    The whole system composed by the Sun's rays, the observer's head, and the (spherical) water drops has an axial symmetry around the axis through the observer's head and parallel to the Sun's rays. The rainbow is curved because the set of all the raindrops that have the right angle between the observer, the drop, and the Sun, lie on a cone ...

  9. Atmospheric optics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_optics

    Atmospheric optics. A colorful sky is often due to indirect sunlight being scattered off air molecules and particulates, like smog, soot, and cloud droplets, as shown in this photo of a sunset during the October 2007 California wildfires. Atmospheric optics is "the study of the optical characteristics of the atmosphere or products of ...