What is a Sun Halo?

Have you ever looked up at the sky and noticed a ring or a circle around the sun? If so, what you were seeing is called a sun halo.

Halos can also happen around the moon. This cool phenomenon happens when there are very high cirrus clouds present in the atmosphere.

Cirrus clouds are made up of ice crystals. The sunlight is refracted off of the ice crystals causing the halo around the sun. Sun halos are bright and can have color to them as well.

>>Make a cloud in a jar with your kids

This happens when the light is refracted within the ice crystals breaking up the colors.

Ice crystals act as a prism allowing us to see the different colors.​​

© 2020 Cox Media Group