A news scout sent a picture late Tuesday afternoon showing an extraordinary weather phenomenon: “I saw a wonderful sky this afternoon in Winterthur,” he wrote enthusiastically.
The sun is surrounded by a glowing circle. This is the halo effect. The effect is created by light being reflected and refracted by ice crystals. This usually happens in cirrus clouds at a height of a few thousand meters.
Halos are often caused by clouds, but they can also be formed near polar snow, ice fog, or snow cannons. Halos can form around both the Sun and the Moon, with the latter being far less common. In addition, various forms such as semicircles, columns of light and arches can occur. Altogether there are over 50 different types of these appearances.
Were you able to capture the halo effect on Tuesday too? Send us your picture of it!
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