Hyderabad people witness Halo sun on Telangana’s eighth state formation day

Such formations are called ’22-degree halos’ because from an observer’s perspective, the ring appears to have a radius of approximately 22 degree around the sun or moon. Image: IE

On a summer afternoon in Telangana’s Hyderabad, many people were left mesmerized by a big colourful halo around the sun. As soon as the halo was spotted, people immediately shared their joy on social media, which further led to many sharing their opinions on the formation as well as a comparison to the one that was seen recently in Bengaluru. A report by The IE noted that the unique formation was seen on the day Telangana celebrated its eighth state formation.

While for many people, the halo formation on June 2 became a reason for joy and was considered a ‘blessing’, there were some who had some misinformation or misconceptions about such occurings. According to the report there were many people who called it catastrophic or a bad omen also. There were also a few, who linked the halo formation to the upcoming solar eclipse.

Citing Raghunandan Kumar, who is the founder secretary as well as director at Planetary Society of India, halo formation was a local weather event. Similar weather phenomenon has also been observed in the past above Yadadri district. The ’22-degree halo’ that appeared on Wednesday in Hyderabad was visible for an hour-and-a-half and everyone in the surroundings were able to see it.

It is to note that such formations are called ’22-degree halos’ because from an observer’s perspective, the ring appears to have a radius of approximately 22 degree around the sun or moon. To be sure, halos are formed due to refraction (also known as splitting of light) or sometimes by reflection when passed through hexagonal ice crystals. Just like how a kaleidoscope works, the formations have evoked much interest in youngsters.

Usually, these are common occurrences with the moon in winters. The report noted that due to thin cirrus clouds that drift at 20,000 feet or above, when sunlight or moonlight passes through them, they get refracted and reflected, thus forming such circles.