Spectacle seen for 40 minutes

A rare cosmic phenomenon in which a ‘ring’ encircles the sun was witnessed for almost forty minutes in the sky on Monday.

A rare cosmic phenomenon in which a ‘ring’ encircles the sun was witnessed for almost forty minutes in the sky on Monday.

HT Image

The ring, called the 22 degree halo of the sun, occurs when cirrus clouds with hexagonal ice crystals are at an altitude of five to ten km above the earth’s surface, Birla Planetarium director D.P. Duari said.

“The sun’s rays passing through the hexagonal crystals are reflected in such a manner that a 22 degree ring is formed. It is called 22 degree ring because the angular distance between the sun and the ring is close to 22 degree,” he said.