(ORDO NEWS) — The origin of some atmospheric optical phenomena remains unclear even after thousands of years of observations.
For the first time in nearly 5,000 years of observations, researchers have compiled a complete catalog of optical phenomena created in the sky by light passing through ice crystals called atmospheric halos.
The “inventory” of atmospheric halos details frequently occurring atmospheric optical halos from known sources, and shows rarer halos, including those whose origin is currently a mystery.
Halos result from the accumulation of water ice crystals smaller than 10 micrometers in the atmosphere.
The properties of these atmospheric illusions, such as their color, the presence of arcs, spots or white rings, are determined by the shape and orientation of the ice scattering, as well as the path that light travels towards these crystals.
Often the type of crystal from which scattering occurs can be determined by the shape of the halo they create.
These atmospheric phenomena have been documented by mankind since at least the Babylonian era – which began around 1895 BC. – when these phenomena were described in detail on cuneiform tablets.
However, thanks to the availability of cameras as a result of the spread of mobile phones, scientists have never before had so much data on these phenomena at their disposal.
In addition to a detailed halo catalog, a new study based on observations collected up to the end of 2021 reveals gaps in the study of this phenomenon.
The authors of the catalog also outline promising methods for both their further observation and processing of the collected data, urging the public to participate in recording these phenomena using their phones and digital photography.
The full catalog divides the phenomena into 119 different types and details the conditions, such as temperature and humidity, necessary for them to occur.
Halos observed at least once a year have been defined as “frequently observed” and usually result from the scattering, refraction and focusing of light from the sun or light reflected from the moon by hexagonal ice crystals in a disordered, horizontal or vertical orientation.
The other category, “rare halos”, includes atmospheric halos, which make up only about one percent of all observations, and is further divided into halos with known origins and halos with unknown and exotic sources.
“Typically, halos are formed as a result of the interaction of light with hexagonal water ice crystals,” Jarmo Moilanen, a scientist at the Finnish Geospatial Institute and a doctoral student at the University of Helsinki, said in a statement. “However, some of the documented exotic halos cannot be explained in this way.”
Moilanen, who developed a list of atmospheric halos with University of Helsinki professor Maria Gritsevich, named some examples of such exotic halos.
“The mysteries of the origin of elliptical halos and Bottlinger rings have not been solved since their discovery in the early 20th century,” the researcher said. “Among the mysterious ones is the so-called Moilanen arc, which I first discovered in 1995.”
The researchers suggest that the key to the formation of mysterious atmospheric halos may be anomalous ice crystals or crystals of other minerals scattered in the air.
Gritsevich said research shows that the unusual shape of exotic halos is due to anthropogenic factors, such as atmospheric emissions or strong electromagnetic fields generated by high-voltage power lines.
She added that these factors can disrupt the orientation of ice crystals in the air, which can lead to exotic halos.
Commentary : Or the composition of the atmosphere is changing due to the huge amount of volcanic ash and meteorite dust that fall into it at the behest of nature, thereby changing its electromagnetic fields.
We humans have a MUCH smaller material impact on the planet than we think.
“In order to solve these mysteries, samples of ice crystals that form exotic halos were specially collected in the atmosphere, but this experience also gave more questions than answers,” Gritsevich said in a statement, adding that atmospheric halos seen around other planets may be useful in unraveling this mystery.
These include the halos observed and documented in the atmosphere of Mars, which can also be used to better understand the Red Planet’s thin, diffuse atmosphere.
Comment : Man-made?
“This observation proves that clouds of hexagonal crystals of water ice or other minerals exist in the atmosphere of Mars,” says Maria Gritsevich. “There are suggestions that the halos may be formed by carbon dioxide crystals.”
She added that mathematical modeling of the factors that can lead to the formation of a halo can provide valuable information about the state of the Martian atmosphere.
The research team’s research was published in the Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer.
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