Parhelic Circle

parhelic circle

[pär′hē·lik]

(astronomy)

A halo consisting of a faint white circle passing through the sun and running parallel to the horizon for as much as 360° of azimuth. Also known as mock sun ring.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Parhelic Circle

 

a narrow white band appearing in the sky during the day and running parallel to the horizon at the altitude of the sun. In rare instances, an entire circle is visible; most often only the sections beginning at the parhelia and appearing as extensions or tails of the parhelia can be seen. A type of halo, the parhelic circle is caused by the reflection of solar rays from ice crystals.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.