Morning journal and courier., 1882-05-09
\ Rare and ReautIfuI Phenomenon

To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 As was walking down Chapel street about | 9 o'clock Saturday morning, May 6. my at tention was attracted by the peculiar appear ance of the sky in the region of the sun. On examination discovered very remarkable combination of halos and parhelia. So un- usual a meteorological phenomenon, it seems to me, is worthy of mention.
 Dwellers in high attitudes and all travellers into far Arctic regions are familiar with the wonderful appearances about the sun and moon called halos, mock suns and mock moons. These are all due to the refraction or the reflection of light by frost crystals in the air. Halos are of several sizes and kinds and are variously situated in reference to the luminous body. The most common ones are rings colored with prismatic hues, surround
 ing the sun and moon. The less common are
 white rings passing through the luminary in
 plane either horizontal or perpendicular to
 the horizon. The mock suns and mock.
 n1oons-properly parhelia and paraselen@-
 appear where the white rings intersect the colored ones.
 We in this latitude are familiar with one kind of halo and with mock suns, commonly
 called sun dogs. This halo is situated about 22 degrees from the sun. The sun dogs are
 seen at the same distance on either side of the sun, most commonly lit | Gl6 a1C6f Sunr1S6 or D6IOr0 SunSSC. SOIuS l times, when the conditions are favorable, oth- CT forms of halos appear even as far south as l this place. Such was the case Saturday morn | ing, for first, there was the common halo | very bright and perfect next, closely asso- ciated with this was another, apparently in | the form of an ellipse, in contact with it above and below the sun, and extending four 1 or five degrees beyond it to the right and 1 left. In other words the circular halo was | ipcorihn6 yuithin fha pIlIptioa1 The points of contact produced parhelia of ex- ceeding brillancy. l Next, thing rarely seen in this latitude | was discovered, the halo situated about 45 de- grees from the sun; not, however, as com 1 plete circle, but as prismatic acres 15 or 20 l degrees in length on either side of the sun. Next, thing more unusual still. and far l more interesting to the meteorologist though | less beautiful as an object of sight, was the white circle, perfectly traceable throughout | its entire extent, passing through the sun and 1 lying parallel with the horizon. -.. l The points where this white band cut the inner halo appeared as brilliant sundogs making in all four parhelia, one above, below | and on either side of the sun.
 Once before has the writer seen almost precisely the same combination of curves and | colors the former spectacle, however, was | less complete, the elliptical halo being but l partially developed.
 l These phenomena prove that the upper
 regions atmosphere on Saturday morning
 were filled with minute crystals of ice of a particular form. We know that all the col l ors were produced by light passing through l the crystals suffering refraction and separa- ton into prismatic hues. We. know that the
 white circle was produced by the light being
 reflected from the surfaces of the crystals, and therefore suffering no change in color.
 In this latitude in the summer time these crystals are suspended in the atmosphere two or three miles from the earth's surface. In
 winter, however, they may be the earth. | When near waterfall, or by the help of 8
 lawn sprinkler, we sometimes see 8 rainbow
 near at hand. While the writer has often seen the halo on the ground. produced by the sun shining through the crystals of frost, it has never been his fortune but once to see
 a halo close at hand in the air. One clear,
 cold winter day, on the prairies of Wiscon- l sin, the atmosphere was full of fine, piercing l crystals, driven by fierce wind. By looking
 in the region of the sun, the whole body of the air. for few hundred feet above the
 surface of the earth, was mass of whirling particles Above that limit the sky was
 clear. Still, there was an exceedingly bril- liant halo. Some of the crystals which
 helped to make this halo might have passed ! within reach of the hand. H. s. K. ! College street church, May 8.