Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,905,878,767 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

circumzenithal arc

   Also found in: Acronyms, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
circumzenithal arc [¦sər·kəm¦zē·nə·thəl ′ärk]
(optics)
A brilliant rainbow-colored arc of about a quarter of a circle with its center at the zenith and about 46° above the sun, produced by refraction and dispersion of the sun's light striking the top of prismatic ice crystals in the atmosphere, and usually lasting only a few minutes.


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
7 Where did freak atmospheric conditions cause an upside-down rainbow - or circumzenithal arc to appear?
The phenomenon, called a circumzenithal arc, is rarely seen outside the polar regions and is hardly ever spotted in the UK.
Unlike a rainbow, which appears opposite the sun, a circumzenithal arc is centred around the zenith of the sky, and can only appear if the solar angle is less than 32 degrees.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.