Solar Halo

Nic Name · 05-17-2002, 06:12 PM

People in Miami were treated to a rare sight
called a solar halo in the early afternoon of
Friday, May 17, 2002. It's a localized weather
phenomon caused by a thick layer of ice crystals
in the atmosphere refracting light from the sun.
The solar halo is a precusor to a weather front.
(AP Photo/J.Pat Carter)

verbatim · 05-17-2002, 08:05 PM

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

It almost looks like a cheap camera trick.

But doesnt it have to be cold to have ice crystals? Miami isnt the first place I think of when I think chilly.

Count Zero · 05-17-2002, 09:52 PM

I saw something like that around the moon once. It was much bigger too.

Quite strange.

Pie · 05-18-2002, 12:27 PM

"But doesnt it have to be cold to have ice crystals? Miami isnt the first place I think of when I think chilly."

Yes, but the ice crystals form miles above ground level. The air up there is always cold... According to one web site I looked at, the temperature at 30,000 feet up is around -50 C. (That's about cruising altitude for big jets.)

For more information on temperature variation as a function of altitude, check out http://lidar.ssec.wisc.edu/papers/pp_thes/node22.htm

Fun and games with physics!

- Pie

05-17-2002, 06:12 PM	#1
Nic Name retired Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,930	Solar Halo People in Miami were treated to a rare sight called a solar halo in the early afternoon of Friday, May 17, 2002. It's a localized weather phenomon caused by a thick layer of ice crystals in the atmosphere refracting light from the sun. The solar halo is a precusor to a weather front. (AP Photo/J.Pat Carter)

05-17-2002, 08:05 PM	#2
verbatim Vice-President of Resentment Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Pennsultucky Posts: 199	Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! It almost looks like a cheap camera trick. But doesnt it have to be cold to have ice crystals? Miami isnt the first place I think of when I think chilly. __________________ <-- I'm with stupid

05-18-2002, 12:27 PM	#4
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	"But doesnt it have to be cold to have ice crystals? Miami isnt the first place I think of when I think chilly." Yes, but the ice crystals form miles above ground level. The air up there is always cold... According to one web site I looked at, the temperature at 30,000 feet up is around -50 C. (That's about cruising altitude for big jets.) For more information on temperature variation as a function of altitude, check out http://lidar.ssec.wisc.edu/papers/pp_thes/node22.htm Fun and games with physics! - Pie __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

05-17-2002, 09:52 PM	#3
Count Zero Colloquialist Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 75	I saw something like that around the moon once. It was much bigger too. Quite strange.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)