What is 46-degree halo?

A 46-degree halo is like a circle of light that appears around the sun or moon, made by tiny ice crystals in the sky.

Imagine you're playing with a prism, when you shine light through it, it splits into colors. A 46-degree halo works in a similar way. Tiny ice crystals in the clouds act like prisms, bending and spreading out the light from the sun or moon. These ice crystals are shaped like little hexagons (like snowflakes), and they’re positioned just right to create this circle of light around the sun or moon.

The 46-degree part is about how far away the light travels from the center of the sun or moon to the edge of the halo. Think of it like drawing a circle with a compass, if you set the compass to 46 degrees, that’s how big the circle appears in the sky.

So next time you see a sunny day with a soft ring around the sun, you might be looking at a 46-degree halo, nature's own little light show!