Hyderabad sees rainbow-coloured halo around the sun, social media flooded with pics

The sun and its halo was not only visible from Hyderabad but also from a few neighbouring districts in the state.
The sun with a halo as seen in Hyderabad
The sun with a halo as seen in Hyderabad
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Around noon, social media profiles of people in Hyderabad were flooded with posts of the sun with an unusual addition, a halo. A circular halo around Sun dazzled citizens in several parts of Hyderabad and in neighbouring Medak, Siddipet and Sangareddy districts. People stepped out to see the rainbow-coloured ring around the Sun, also called a '22 degree halo'. A few days ago, a similar phenomenon in Bengaluru had made it to the headlines. According to experts, this is a common atmospheric phenomenon. The ring around the sun, or the halo, is due to a kaleidoscopic effect. It is a phenomenon that occurs due to refraction and reflection of light. The ice crystals in the air cause the phenomenon. 

The not-so-rare phenomenon is reported when cirrus clouds are located in the earth’s atmosphere. The light gets refracted into seven colours. This halo around the sun is also often called the ‘22 degrees halo,’ named so because the circular rainbow has a radius of approximately 22 degrees around the sun. Speaking to TNM, Raghunandan Kumar, Director of Planetary Society of India said that the weather phenomenon was visible not only in Hyderabad but also in a couple of other districts in the state. “Around 12.30 pm the phenomenon was first sighted. It was visible for around an hour and a half. The same phenomenon was also reportedly seen from Siddipet, Sangareddy and Medak as well. It was a pleasant surprise. Such a phenomenon helps ignite scientific temper among students.”

“The phenomenon is a blessing in disguise. Lot of children were able to experience it thoroughly as they were at home due to the lockdown. Had they been in school, they would have probably missed witnessing it,” added Kumar. 

Many people took to social media flooded with creative and colourful posts. People used various props hoping to capture the perfect shot. Some also clicked selfies strategically positioning the camera to pass off the sun’s halo as their own. People were using the hashtag #SunHalo on Twitter while putting out their photos.

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