Another Treat In The Sky

Did you witness the beautiful sight - sun's halo -  in the sky yesterday?  I failed to catch it.  I was driving home when I heard the DJs talking about it on the radio.  I was just too lazy to get out of the car and gaze at the sky because it was so hot!  When I reported for work in the afternoon, everyone was talking about how beautiful the rainbow surrounding the sun was.  Sayang!  I missed it.  :(


Anyway, it was all over the Internet.  Many bloggers like Joemill uploaded their beautiful pictures and videos.
For those who missed it like me, here are 2 beautiful videos from Joemill (he used 2 different filters).






A halo is an optical phenomenon that occurs around the sun or the moon when there are very high cirrus clouds in the atmosphere.  Halos are arcs and spots of light in the sky caused by the reflection and refraction of light from ice crystals; they may split up into colors because of dispersion.  The particular shape and orientation of the crystals is responsible for the type of halo that is observed.  Ice crystals generating halos are mainly found in high clouds (cirrus and  cirrustratus) but they can also be observed in falling snow crystals, freezing fog, and on snow covers. 

Maybe you are wondering why there would be ice crystals in our atmospheric air here in the Philippines when we are at the height of our summer season.  In the troposphere,  the temperature generally decreases as the altitude increases.   (Here on Earth, the troposphere is from the ground or water level up to 11 miles or 17 kilometers high.  In the tropics at this time of the year, the temperature at the troposphere is around -70 degrees Celsius or -95 degrees Fahrenheit.


Well, while it is clear that the solar halo is a scientific phenomenon, I also believe that it is a positive sign from God.  :)  The rainbow halo which surrounded the sun could be likened to God's covenant with Noah after the Great Flood.

"When I gather the clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will recall the Covenant between myself and you and every living creature of every kind. And so the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all things of flesh." (Genesis 9:14-15).