PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Reports across South Florida came in about a strange ring around the sun this weekend. It’s a sun halo and may be more common that you might think.
It formed as sunlight passed through high, thin cirrus clouds moving in from the Gulf of Mexico.
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These clouds are more than 20,000 feet off the ground and are so cold that they’re made of ice crystals.
Light passing through them is refracted, just like a prism, creating the halo.
Occasionally they can show some color. The halos seen Saturday and Sunday were vivid enough for a reddish color in the inner ring.
It can also be found around a bright full moon if conditions are just right.