Sunday, January 16, 2011

APOD 2.8

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Ah, Stockholm. I have never been, but the progressiveness and much amplified awesomeness of Sweden has made me quite a big fan. The halo around the sun depicted in this image is actually the sun's light being reflected off of ice chrystals. Water that freezes in the upper atmosphere forms small, six-sided ice chrystals which are falling to the ground. They fall with their faces flat, or parallel to the Earth. An Earthly observer may pass through the same plane as the falling ice chrystals at sunrise or sunset. When this occurs, the ice chrystals act as a miniature lens and refract the light creating "sundogs". Neat-o!

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