A Quadruple Lunar Halo Over Spain (and How!) Moonlight is beautiful all on its own, but every once in a while the interactions between our atmosphere and lunar light really take it to the next level. You know I rarely give you a beautiful picture without trying to tell you something sciencey about it :) Inside of this beautiful photo by Dani Caxete, we can see four unique atmospheric “halos”. Microscopic ice crystals in our atmosphere take on certain shapes as they freeze, and those shapes refract light at very particular angles, like icy prisms. We get 22˚ and 46˚ halos (because of the shape of the ice crystals and the special angles at which they refract light), and two arcs growing off of those halos. It’s all the result of moonlight bending through falling ice crystals, randomly oriented throughout the night sky, a few of them beaming light toward the camera. Here’s an annotated version of the above photo, with all the halos labeled: Want to learn more about these amazing refractory effects that we often see around the sun and moon? Check out my earlier post about a beautiful set of halos in Greenland, and Atmospheric Optics has the definitive encyclopedia of halo phenomena. (via APOD)
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A Quadruple Lunar Halo Over Spain (and How!)

Moonlight is beautiful all on its own, but every once in a while the interactions between our atmosphere and lunar light really take it to the next level. You know I rarely give you a beautiful picture without trying to tell you something sciencey about it :)

Inside of this beautiful photo by Dani Caxete, we can see four unique atmospheric “halos”. Microscopic ice crystals in our atmosphere take on certain shapes as they freeze, and those shapes refract light at very particular angles, like icy prisms.

We get 22˚ and 46˚ halos (because of the shape of the ice crystals and the special angles at which they refract light), and two arcs growing off of those halos. It’s all the result of moonlight bending through falling ice crystals, randomly oriented throughout the night sky, a few of them beaming light toward the camera. Here’s an annotated version of the above photo, with all the halos labeled:

Want to learn more about these amazing refractory effects that we often see around the sun and moon? Check out my earlier post about a beautiful set of halos in Greenland, and Atmospheric Optics has the definitive encyclopedia of halo phenomena.

(via APOD)

Source: apod.nasa.gov

In Space, There Is No Up or Down Former ISS astronaut André Kuipers took this photo of an air bubble inside of a water droplet on a previous expedition, proving that hanging out in space is every bit as fun as you’d imagine it is. But he also provides us with a fun way to illustrate a physical principle of light and optics: refraction. When light passes from one medium to another, like air-to-water or water-to-air, it is bent. Different wavelengths are bent at different angles in different media depending on the angle of the light hitting the interface between, say, air and water. It’s all laid out in something called Snell’s Law, if you’re interested. So light from André’s particularly shiny noggin is bent down when it enters the water, and light from his chin is bent up. And when the light waves in water re-enter the air, the whole process is flipped again thanks to inverse refraction. The result is a man with a squashed face trapped inside a tiny bubble floating through space … and this very cool photo.
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In Space, There Is No Up or Down

Former ISS astronaut André Kuipers took this photo of an air bubble inside of a water droplet on a previous expedition, proving that hanging out in space is every bit as fun as you’d imagine it is. But he also provides us with a fun way to illustrate a physical principle of light and optics: refraction.

When light passes from one medium to another, like air-to-water or water-to-air, it is bent. Different wavelengths are bent at different angles in different media depending on the angle of the light hitting the interface between, say, air and water. It’s all laid out in something called Snell’s Law, if you’re interested.

So light from André’s particularly shiny noggin is bent down when it enters the water, and light from his chin is bent up. And when the light waves in water re-enter the air, the whole process is flipped again thanks to inverse refraction.

The result is a man with a squashed face trapped inside a tiny bubble floating through space … and this very cool photo.

Capturing a Heavenly Halo at Greenland’s Summit Station It’s easy to see a photo like this, pause for a moment, let out an “ooh” or an “ahh” or two, then continue on about your business. But that takes all the fun out of it! Let’s stop for a moment, and really appreciate what’s going on in this picture. What is the science behind such atmospheric phenomena? Almost every optical phenomenon in the daylight sky, whether it’s a rainbow or a halo or a “sun dog”, occurs due to light bending through water that’s suspended in the atmosphere. That water could be liquid (like rainbows) or crystallized ice (like above), but it acts as a prism all the same. Start with the inner ring around the Sun. This is a solar halo. To be precise, it’s probably a 22˚ halo. This ring occurs when hexagonal ice crystals, randomly distributed and aligned in the atmosphere, refract light coming from the Sun back to the eye of the viewer. While every crystal of ice in the air is bending the light that hits it, only the hexagon-shaped crystals that happen to be sitting at exactly 22˚ away from the Sun AND oriented just right are able to bend light straight back at your eye. This is because of their particular six-sided geometry. Someone standing 50 feet to your right would see the same halo, but from a completely different set of randomly aligned ice crystals! What about those two orbs of concentrated light to the left and right of the Sun? Those are called “sun dogs”. Aristotle used to refer to them as “mock suns”, chasing the real Sun through the sky. They usually are only seen when the Sun is low in the sky, and always at the same elevation as the Sun itself. What causes these? The same ice crystals as the 22˚ halo! You see, as the hexagonal crystals sink down to Earth, they begin to align. It’s the same thing that happens to a falling dart: the air resistance makes them stand up straight. Remember how the 22˚ halo was formed by whatever crystals just happened to be pointing our way? The sun dogs appear brighter because there’s simply more “ice prisms” pointing in the right direction to send light into your eyes. You can even see a red-to-blue prism effect at work, since different wavelengths of light get bent at slightly different angles. And that blob at the top of the halo? That’s an upper tangent arc. It’s origin lies in the same alignment of ice crystals that form the sun dogs, but instead of falling vertically, they are arranged horizontally. If you look closely ou can even see the far edges arcing down like wings, suspending the orb of light in mid-air. The arm of light reaching upwards like a solar pillar is the result of simple reflected sunlight off of the icy faces of suspended crystals. The outer ring is perhaps the most rare. I’m pretty sure that’s a 46˚ halo. The same hexagonal ice crystals are at play, but instead of bending light through their six-sided faces, they are bending it through their base. That particular geometry of refraction gives bends light at a wider angle, meaning the halo is larger. It’s fainter, because there are fewer ice crystals randomly oriented that way, and can only be seen when the Sun is low and the air is clouded with frozen water. There’s definitely more in there that I’m not mentioning, but wow … right? Sights such as these would be carry plenty of beauty without further explanation, but a little knowledge certainly enriches nature’s grandeur, no? (via Alan Boyle, photo by Ed Stockard)
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Capturing a Heavenly Halo at Greenland’s Summit Station

It’s easy to see a photo like this, pause for a moment, let out an “ooh” or an “ahh” or two, then continue on about your business. But that takes all the fun out of it!

Let’s stop for a moment, and really appreciate what’s going on in this picture. What is the science behind such atmospheric phenomena?

  • Almost every optical phenomenon in the daylight sky, whether it’s a rainbow or a halo or a “sun dog”, occurs due to light bending through water that’s suspended in the atmosphere. That water could be liquid (like rainbows) or crystallized ice (like above), but it acts as a prism all the same.
  • Start with the inner ring around the Sun. This is a solar halo. To be precise, it’s probably a 22˚ halo. This ring occurs when hexagonal ice crystals, randomly distributed and aligned in the atmosphere, refract light coming from the Sun back to the eye of the viewer. While every crystal of ice in the air is bending the light that hits it, only the hexagon-shaped crystals that happen to be sitting at exactly 22˚ away from the Sun AND oriented just right are able to bend light straight back at your eye. This is because of their particular six-sided geometry. Someone standing 50 feet to your right would see the same halo, but from a completely different set of randomly aligned ice crystals!
  • What about those two orbs of concentrated light to the left and right of the Sun? Those are called “sun dogs”. Aristotle used to refer to them as “mock suns”, chasing the real Sun through the sky. They usually are only seen when the Sun is low in the sky, and always at the same elevation as the Sun itself. What causes these? The same ice crystals as the 22˚ halo! You see, as the hexagonal crystals sink down to Earth, they begin to align. It’s the same thing that happens to a falling dart: the air resistance makes them stand up straight. Remember how the 22˚ halo was formed by whatever crystals just happened to be pointing our way? The sun dogs appear brighter because there’s simply more “ice prisms” pointing in the right direction to send light into your eyes. You can even see a red-to-blue prism effect at work, since different wavelengths of light get bent at slightly different angles.
  • And that blob at the top of the halo? That’s an upper tangent arc. It’s origin lies in the same alignment of ice crystals that form the sun dogs, but instead of falling vertically, they are arranged horizontally. If you look closely ou can even see the far edges arcing down like wings, suspending the orb of light in mid-air. The arm of light reaching upwards like a solar pillar is the result of simple reflected sunlight off of the icy faces of suspended crystals.
  • The outer ring is perhaps the most rare. I’m pretty sure that’s a 46˚ halo. The same hexagonal ice crystals are at play, but instead of bending light through their six-sided faces, they are bending it through their base. That particular geometry of refraction gives bends light at a wider angle, meaning the halo is larger. It’s fainter, because there are fewer ice crystals randomly oriented that way, and can only be seen when the Sun is low and the air is clouded with frozen water.

There’s definitely more in there that I’m not mentioning, but wow … right? Sights such as these would be carry plenty of beauty without further explanation, but a little knowledge certainly enriches nature’s grandeur, no?

(via Alan Boyle, photo by Ed Stockard)

The Fire Rainbow I’ve never been lucky enough to see one of these, have you? Make no mistake, though, they’re real. The technical term for the fire rainbow is a circumhorizontal arc.  High in the atmosphere, cirrus clouds form as wispy layers of ice that can stretch on for hundreds of miles. As light from the sun hits it, it refracts as if it was being shone through a prism. This refraction happens because when light goes from one medium to another, like from air to water or air to ice, it can be bent. Different wavelengths are bent to different extents, separating white light into its component colors. Want to know more? Check out this Khan Academy lesson on refraction. (via Kuriositas)
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The Fire Rainbow

I’ve never been lucky enough to see one of these, have you? Make no mistake, though, they’re real. The technical term for the fire rainbow is a circumhorizontal arc. 

High in the atmosphere, cirrus clouds form as wispy layers of ice that can stretch on for hundreds of miles. As light from the sun hits it, it refracts as if it was being shone through a prism.

This refraction happens because when light goes from one medium to another, like from air to water or air to ice, it can be bent. Different wavelengths are bent to different extents, separating white light into its component colors.

Want to know more? Check out this Khan Academy lesson on refraction.

(via Kuriositas)

Source: kuriositas.com