You reported to us this viral image of an alleged ‘rare phenomenon’ visible around the Sun asking what it was: let’s clarify
We would like to point out that the image does not represent any authentic atmospheric optical phenomenon. Many assume that it could be a solar halo, but the shape shown is very unusual: the ring has a strong color and an unnatural circular shape, with the sun appearing tangent, rather than at the center of the halo, as happens in real phenomena.
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Solar halos
The authentic ones tend to be less intense in color and more nuanced, and are formed around the sun, which is always at the center of the halo. Furthermore, for the formation of such intense solar halos, the presence of cirrus clouds in the atmosphere is necessary, while here only denser clouds are observed. The larger diffraction effect visible in the image has nothing to do with the solar corona phenomenon and could be due to an optical effect of the camera, if the shot was real and not the result of digital manipulation. Help us spread the correct information!
If you have come this far it is because you considered our article worthy of being read to the end. Passione Astronomia has always tried to build, through scientific dissemination, a community of more informed and aware people. It’s also why we decided to write a book dedicated to astronomy. It is written in a clear and simple way, precisely because for us disclosure must be accessible to everyone. You find it .
