What is the magic sun phenomenon?

Magic sun phenomenon is an atmospheric optical phenomenon, which is called "double sun". Because there are a large number of tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the sky, under certain conditions, sunlight will refract on these ice crystals and form a halo around the sun.

In the very cold sky with cirrus clouds, there are many tiny hexagonal ice crystals. When these many ice crystals approach sunrise or sunset, they will refract sunlight like prisms and form a "halo" around the sun.

When the ice crystals sink, they will be neatly arranged vertically, so that the sunlight will be refracted about 22 degrees to the left and right in the horizontal direction. Three beams of light coming out of icicles will hit people's eyes, and the one in the middle comes directly from the sun in the middle, which is the real sun.

Next to the two rays, the sunlight is refracted by a hexagonal crystal column. In this way, in people's eyes, there are two other suns on both sides of the real sun in the middle, which are actually virtual images of the sun.

Weather conditions of magic sun phenomenon:

The phenomenon of "magic day" usually appears between 5: 30 and 6: 00 in the morning or around 9: 00, and it also appears at night. But it generally does not appear at noon, because the direct sunlight at noon does not meet the refraction conditions. And the sun is too strong at noon, even if there is such a phenomenon, it is impossible for the naked eye to observe it.

The phenomenon of "magic day" needs to meet very strict conditions. First of all, there must be cirrostratus, and only clouds can form ice crystals; Secondly, the clouds should be thin and transparent, so as to refract sunlight; It is also very important that the angle between the sun and ice crystals and the observer should be just right, and it will not be visible if it is slightly off. Therefore, the atmospheric optical phenomenon of "magic day" is extremely rare.

The phenomenon of "magic day" generally does not last long, ranging from a few minutes to dozens of minutes. Because the clouds in the air move faster, as soon as the clouds leave, the next cloud covers the place where the "magic day" appears, so it can't be seen.

Because the magic day is caused by regular hexagonal ice crystals refracting sunlight in the sky, it needs stable atmosphere, suitable clouds, a lot of water vapor, ice crystal formation angle and other conditions.