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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
A Sun Halo over Utah
Explanation: Have you ever seen a halo around the Sun? This fairly common sight occurs when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. Each ice crystal acts like a miniature lens. Because most of the crystals have a similar elongated hexagonal shape, light entering one crystal face and exiting through the opposing face refracts 22 degrees , which corresponds to the radius of the Sun Halo . A similar Moon Halo may be visible during the night. The picture was taken in Gunlock, Utah , USA . A flock of birds was caught by chance in the foreground. Exactly how ice-crystals form in clouds remains under investigation .
Lecture: APOD editor to give public talk in Princeton tonight (April 11)
| Date | April 11, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: Doug Wilson |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |