Tengrinews.kz – Residents of Almaty observed an unusual phenomenon in the sky over the city — a solar halo.
On the morning of April 1, people in Almaty could witness a solar halo — an atmospheric phenomenon where a ring-shaped glow appears around the sun.
Photos of the natural spectacle were sent to our editorial team via the Telegram bot.
Photo by Tengrinews.kz readers
The phenomenon is caused by the scattering of light on tiny ice crystals in the Earth’s atmosphere. A halo around the sun can be seen when the atmosphere contains high-altitude clouds made up of ice crystals.
A solar halo forms in the presence of clouds that contain extremely fine ice crystals, light enough to remain suspended in the air. These crystals form when moisture droplets freeze in the cold upper layers of the atmosphere.
To create a halo, the ice crystals must be aligned so that their flat surfaces are parallel to one another. This alignment allows for multiple reflections and scattering of light. As light refracts through the ice crystals, it is reflected and forms the distinctive ring-shaped glow around the sun.