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What's behind this sky scene observed in France?
Capital Weather Gang
What’s behind this sky scene observed in France?
At least eight different optical features are visible in the remarkable image
Cindy Bidois captured this stunning scene on Dec. 2 in Val Thorens, Savoie, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. (Cindy Bidois/Spaceweather.com)
By Matthew Cappucci
December 10 at 12:28 PM
Cindy Bidois hit the atmospheric jackpot last week when she ventured to Val Thorens, a ski resort nestled high in the French Alps. As Spaceweather.com reported, the stunning sky scene she encountered featured an assemblage of eight remarkable atmospheric features.
Most of us have seen colorful rings around the sun before. Odds are that’s the 22-degree halo. It’s among the most common of the sun’s colorful optical phenomena, resulting from sunlight refracting through disorganized ice crystals and being split into its component colors. The 22-degree halo is always the same size and shape regardless of where the sun is in the sky.
An annotated look at the phenomena gracing Bidois's sky scene. (Cindy Bidois/Spaceweather.com)
But many of the other features require specific arrangements or orientations of crystals. Take sundogs, also known as parhelia (plural, or parhelion for the singular). Look for the two brighter patches intersecting the 22-degree halo on either side of the sun. Those form from nearly flat, hexagonal ice crystals that refract sunlight through their sides.
....
Matthew Cappucci is a meteorologist for Capital Weather Gang. He earned a B.A. in atmospheric sciences from Harvard University in 2019, and has contributed to The Washington Post since he was 18. He is an avid storm chaser and adventurer, and covers all types of weather, climate science, and astronomy. Follow https://twitter.com/MatthewCappucci
What’s behind this sky scene observed in France?
At least eight different optical features are visible in the remarkable image
Cindy Bidois captured this stunning scene on Dec. 2 in Val Thorens, Savoie, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. (Cindy Bidois/Spaceweather.com)
By Matthew Cappucci
December 10 at 12:28 PM
Cindy Bidois hit the atmospheric jackpot last week when she ventured to Val Thorens, a ski resort nestled high in the French Alps. As Spaceweather.com reported, the stunning sky scene she encountered featured an assemblage of eight remarkable atmospheric features.
Most of us have seen colorful rings around the sun before. Odds are that’s the 22-degree halo. It’s among the most common of the sun’s colorful optical phenomena, resulting from sunlight refracting through disorganized ice crystals and being split into its component colors. The 22-degree halo is always the same size and shape regardless of where the sun is in the sky.
An annotated look at the phenomena gracing Bidois's sky scene. (Cindy Bidois/Spaceweather.com)
But many of the other features require specific arrangements or orientations of crystals. Take sundogs, also known as parhelia (plural, or parhelion for the singular). Look for the two brighter patches intersecting the 22-degree halo on either side of the sun. Those form from nearly flat, hexagonal ice crystals that refract sunlight through their sides.
....
Matthew Cappucci is a meteorologist for Capital Weather Gang. He earned a B.A. in atmospheric sciences from Harvard University in 2019, and has contributed to The Washington Post since he was 18. He is an avid storm chaser and adventurer, and covers all types of weather, climate science, and astronomy. Follow https://twitter.com/MatthewCappucci
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