Halo (disambiguation) facts for kids

A halo is a special ring of light that sometimes appears around the Sun or Moon. It happens when sunlight or moonlight shines through tiny ice crystals floating high up in the Earth's atmosphere. These crystals act like tiny prisms, bending and reflecting the light to create beautiful circles or arcs in the sky.

What is an Atmospheric Halo?

An atmospheric halo is a common optical event you can see in the sky. It looks like a bright circle or arc of light around the Sun or Moon. These halos are caused by light interacting with ice crystals in the clouds, usually cirrus clouds, which are very high up.

How Do Halos Form?

Halos form because of how light behaves when it passes through ice crystals.

• Ice Crystals: High in the atmosphere, especially in cirrus clouds, there are millions of tiny ice crystals. These crystals often have a hexagonal (six-sided) shape.
• Refraction: When sunlight or moonlight enters one side of an ice crystal and exits another, it bends. This bending of light is called refraction. The light bends at a specific angle, usually around 22 degrees, which creates the most common type of halo.
• Reflection: Sometimes, light also bounces off the inside surfaces of the ice crystals, which is called reflection. Both refraction and reflection work together to create the different kinds of halos we see.

Different Kinds of Halos

There are many types of halos, but some are more common than others:

• 22-degree Halo: This is the most frequently seen halo. It's a large, bright circle that appears about 22 degrees away from the Sun or Moon. It often has a reddish inner edge and a bluish outer edge.
• Sun Dogs (Parhelia): These are bright spots of light that appear on either side of the Sun, often at the same height as the Sun itself. They are usually seen when the Sun is low in the sky.
• Circumzenithal Arc: This is a bright, rainbow-like arc that appears high in the sky, above the Sun. It's often more colorful than a regular rainbow and looks like an upside-down rainbow.

Other Meanings of "Halo"

The word "halo" can also mean other things:

• Video Game Series: Halo is a very popular series of science fiction video games. Players often control a super-soldier named Master Chief and fight against alien threats.
• Song: "Halo" is also a famous song by the American singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was released in 2008 and became a worldwide hit.

See also

In Spanish: Halo para niños

Images for kids

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  A robot, unrelated to atmospheric halos, but an example of another use of the word "halo" in pop culture (like the video game series).