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What's that cloud? An angelic phenomenon

10:01
5 August 2022

What's that cloud?
An angelic phenomenon

Sun halo© Zsolt Goldman

Weather & Radar user Zsolt Goldman captured this fantastic image of a halo around the sun in Torbay, Devon.

A sun halo, or '22 degree halo' is an optical phenomenon produced by sunlight interacting with ice crystals in the atmosphere.

The ice crystals are often hexagonal in shape and found within high cirrus, or cirrostratus clouds, at an altitude of over 6,000 metres. Depending on how the light is dispersed through the ice crystals, the halo may appear white, or rainbow coloured.

According to folklore should you spot a halo around the sun, rain may fall within the next 24 hours, because the clouds that cause the halo can signify atmospheric moisture and the approach of a frontal system.

However, this unfortunately isn't ringing true in this case, with plenty of fine weather expected across south-west England.

Have you ever captured a photograph of a halo? If you have, we would love to see it, just upload it here.

Weather & Radar editorial team
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