Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Sun dog! Halo! Or........ Rainbow around a sun

The halo around the sunYou can see clearly there's a rainbow around the sun. My cousin called me to watch it on 5/7/2009. In case anyone don't know, it's the day for Penang Hill Climb.

I took these pictures outside of botanical gardens after St.John duty for the hill climb in the middle of the hill.


阳光照耀在云朵上塑造一道美丽的彩虹

Credit to Douglas for explaining it!
日晕(Rì Yùn)(solar halo; solar flare),日晕是日光通过云层中的冰晶时,经折射而形成的光现象,围绕太阳环形,呈彩色。日晕的出现,往往预示天气要有一定的变化。日晕是一种比较罕见的天象。“日晕”有全晕圈和缺口晕。
   日晕是卷云、卷层云形成的环绕在太阳周围的彩色(或白色)光环或光弧,色带排列内红外紫。日晕有时也被称为“日枷”,有全晕圈和缺口晕。据专家介绍,日 晕是一种大气光学现象,是日光通过卷层云时,受到冰晶的折射或反射而形成。当光线射入卷层云中的冰晶后,经过两次折射,分散成不同方向的各色光。实际上, 有卷层云时,天空飘浮着无数冰晶,在太阳周围的同一圆圈上的冰晶,都能将同颜色的光折射到我们的眼睛里而形成内红外紫的晕环。天空中有由冰晶组成的卷层云 时,往往在太阳周围出现一个或两个以上以太阳为中心内红外紫的彩色光环,有时还会出现很多彩色或白色的光点和光弧,这些光环、光点和光弧统称为晕。
   当光环半径的对应视角在22-46之间的角度,人们可以肉眼观察到“日晕”现象。云层中冰晶含量越大,阳光产生折射后所呈现的“日晕”形状就越小,光环 也就越显著,容易使人观察到;反之,则无法形成“日晕”,或者即使形成也无法在地面上清楚地观察到这一现象。“日晕”多出现在春夏季节。民间有“日晕三更 雨,月晕午时风”的谚语,其意思就是若出现日晕的话,夜半三更将有雨,若出现月晕,则次日中午会刮风。日晕在一定程度上可以成为天气变化的一种前兆,出现 日晕天气有可能转阴或下雨。但说这种现象可以预兆今年气候的旱涝是没有科学依据的。日晕出现时不要长时间用肉眼观看日晕,以免灼伤眼睛。
  天气 要下雨时,往往会在高空中出现象鸟类羽毛般的卷云,接着在卷云的下面6千米左右空中出现含雨的卷层云。由于气温低,云中的水滴变成六棱柱状的小冰晶。太阳 光能穿过云层即在小冰晶上发生折射,看上去在太阳的周围出现一个圆圈,由内而外呈红橙黄绿青蓝紫七种颜色,这就是日晕。

形成条件

日 晕是一种大气现象,它形成的原因是在5000米的高空中出现了由冰晶构成的卷层云。卷层云中的冰晶经过太阳照射后会发生折射和反射等物理变化,阳光便分解 成了红、黄、绿、紫等多种颜色,这样太阳周围就出现一个巨大的彩色光环,称为晕。在天空中因为冬季的话,它有一些水蒸气,冬季由于温度较低,卷积云或卷层 云下面,云中含有大量的水蒸气,由于遇冷凝固,它就形成了这样的六菱形的小冰晶。幻日的出现,是由于日晕两侧的对称点上,冰晶体变成无数面小镜子,这些小 镜子纷纷反射阳光,显得特别明亮,便会出现几个太阳的虚像,这就是奇特的“幻日”了。如果气象条件合适,我们有时能看到太阳的上下左右对称点各有一个幻 日,那天空就会有五个“太阳”了。
  出现所谓的多日同辉这种天气现象,它所需要的气象条件是比较苛刻的,首先天空得有适量的云,因为这个云是产 生几日同辉现象的物质载体,云太少了以后它形成不了,云太了以后就可以把光直接被云吸收掉了,所以说也射不到地面上来。第二个条件就是空气中必须得有足够 的水汽,得有比较大量的,一般的都是六菱体的冰晶存在,这样才能产生光的折射。另外一个就是对风的要求得比较小,大气层也得比较稳定,否则的话,有规则的 冰晶就会被打乱,这样的话也形成不了有规律的光的折射现象。

A halo (ἅλως; also known as a nimbus, icebow or Gloriole) is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Many are near the sun or moon but others are are elesewhere and even in the opposite part of the sky. They can also form around artificial lights in very cold weather when ice crystals called are diamond dust floating in the nearby air.
There are many types of ice halos. They are produced by the ice crystals in cirrus clouds high (5–10 km, or 3–6 miles) in the upper troposphere. The particular shape and orientation of the crystals is responsible for the type of halo observed. Light is reflected and refracted by the ice crystals and may split up into colors because of dispersion. The crystals behave like jewels, refracting and reflecting sunlight between their faces, sending shafts of light in particular directions.

Atmospheric phenomena such as halos were used as part of weather lore as an empirical means of weather forecasting before meteorology was developed.

Other common optical phenomena involving water droplets rather than ice crystals include the glory and the rainbow.

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