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Sun Halo

Weather
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A bright ring around the sun caused by ice crystals in high clouds.

Detailed Definition
A sun halo is a luminous circle that appears around the sun when light passes through hexagonal ice crystals in high, thin clouds. It may foretell changing weather, especially the approach of a warm front. In poetry, a sun halo can lend an ordinary sky an omen-like or sacred quality, turning cold air into visible radiance. Its circular form may also suggest enclosure, distance, or a fragile crown placed around an unreachable source of light.
Example
Example in poetry:
A sun halo ringed the winter sun, pale fire hung in the high thin clouds; Use sun halo for the luminous circle formed when sunlight refracts through ice crystals in cirrus clouds; The sun halo widened above the frozen lake, as though the sky wore a silver wound; In a poem, a sun halo can turn an ordinary cold day into an omen, a crown, or a quiet sign of distance
Additional Notes
A sun halo often signals ice crystals in thin, high cirrus clouds and may precede changing weather. Its circular light can support images of radiance, prophecy, sacredness, or a distant cold atmosphere.
Also Known As
Solar Halo Sun Ring 22° Halo
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