Answers

10 answer(s)

<< First   < Prev   [1]   [2]   Next >   Last >>

Reply	Adam says: This appears to be not mist, but light from the sun reflecting off ice particles in the air. The effect is called a Halo, Icebow, Nimbus or Gloriole, and due to the location of the sun just below the horizon at the time, you are only seeing the top half of it, giving it a rainbow effects. When the sun is high in the sky this effect causes a complete circle to appear around the sun.A fine example of this is shown on the NASA website http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060411.html  (no votes) Tags: weather, technology, human body, planet earth.
	posted on 2008-07-10 13:40:00 | Report abuse

Reply	auntiegrav says: Can the ice cause rainbows also, or does a rainbow only happen with liquid droplets?  (no votes) Tags: weather, technology, human body, planet earth.
	posted on 2008-07-10 20:41:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Harmon says: Ice can definitely cause rainbow colored arcs. The most dramatic ones I ever saw was one winter night in Minnesota when I was driving in the countryside. The nearly full moon was surrounded by rainbow circles and arcs. The "sundog" phenomenon is also caused by ice-crystal refraction.  (no votes) Tags: weather, technology, human body, planet earth.
	posted on 2008-07-10 21:53:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Anonymous says: Annette, you don't mention what time of DAY it was, but from the picture alone, one can deduce that it was late afternoon sometime before sunset, correct? You happened to be facing east, in the direction opposite the sun.Adam is incorrect. This is NOT, as he says, "a Halo, Icebow, Nimbus or Gloriole, and due to the location of the sun just below the horizon at the time, you are only seeing the top half of it". Sorry, adam, but that's wrong! For the sun to be that far below the horizon to be centered on that annular feature, it would have been night, and those clouds higher in that blue sky in your picture would not have been illuminated at all.It is simply an analog of a 'rainbow' caused by a layer of mist droplets above the sea surface - a "mist-bow", if you like.  (no votes) Tags: weather, technology, human body, planet earth.
	posted on 2008-07-19 09:36:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Anonymous says: Don't confuse the two phenomena: there's a big difference between haloes and rainbows! Haloes are caused by a refraction of light by ICE CRYSTALS (through an angle of about 22 degrees, making the halo about 44 degrees in diameter, centered on the sun or moon. Rainbows, on the other hand, are caused by a different kind of refraction through water droplets, which produce a circular annulus between about 80 and 84 degrees in diameter centered on a spot directly opposite the sun (or moon) in the sky. While complete halos around the sun or moon are commonly observed while they are high in the sky, typically, not all of a complete rainbow is visible, because they are centered on the spot directly opposite the light source - so the sun 9or moon) must be near enough to the horizon for part of the rainbow to show itself against the sky. However, anyone who has played with a lawn sprinkler or mister may have noticed they can produce a near-whole "rainbow" almost at will, seen entirely against the ground surrounding the shadow of your head - even when the sun is at high noon!  (no votes) Tags: weather, human body, planet earth.
	posted on 2008-07-19 10:03:00 | Report abuse

<< First   < Prev   [1]   [2]   Next >   Last >>