March 9, 2005
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us, and yet here you are — a collection of atoms that somehow learned to think, to...
A Sun Halo Over Tennessee
Birthday · March 9, 2005
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APOD published March 9, 2005. Credit: Vydor. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Sometimes it looks like the Sun is being viewed through a large lens. In the above case, however, there are actually millions of lenses: ice crystals. As water freezes in the upper atmosphere, small, flat, six-sided, ice crystals might be formed. As these crystals flutter to the ground, each crystal can act like a miniature lens, refracting sunlight into our view. The above image was taken near sunset last month near Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Dramatically visible behind neighborhood houses and trees and above the cloud deck is the 22 degree halo created by sunlight refracting off of atmospheric ice crystals.
Image credit: Vydor