Rare and extraordinary phenomena in the sky.

From the early days a human being tried to understand all the occurences in the sky. The ancient chronical said about the colour rings around the Sun and the Moon, about three suns in the sky, light columns, bright lightning, different "comets" rushing to the Earth, moving among the stars or round the Earth with the sky.

All these occurrences may be divided into three categories: one that occur in the near or far space, processes going on in the Earth atmosphere under the influence of cosmic factors and at last the occurrences connected with the Earth atmosphere.

Mirages.

As it is known the light spreads like a straight line only in the homogeneous environment. In the border of two environments the light beam reflects, i.e. goes away from the initial way. Such nonhomogeneous environtment is the air of the Earth atmosphere: its density increases near the Earth surface. The light beam refracts and as a result the luminaries seemed to be a little bit displaced, "rised" above its true position in the sky. This occurrence is called refraction (Latin refractus - "refracted"). Due to refraction in atmosphere there the False images of some objects may occur - mirages.

Upper mirage
The upper mirage

Lower mirage
The lower mirage

Rainbow.

Rainbow
Rainbow

Rainbow - is the white light resolution into spectrum. The rainbow state depends on the size and quantity of the water drops in the air. The bright rainbow arises in summer after thunder storm raining. This rainbow turnes into good weather. The Moon may give the rainbow but very weak and pale.

Halo.

Halo around the Moon
Halo around the Moon

The mist around the Sun and the Moon may be seen very often. It happens when the sky is covered with the blaket - light high cirrus clouds. The small icy chips and drops of water in these clouds as it shining, spreading the beams of bright light. But sometimes, if the clouds are too thin and uniform there appear a bright round or sometimes several rounds - halo (from the Greek "halos" - "round", "disk").

 

Parhelion
Parhelion (the false suns)

The columns of the Sun
The columns of the Sun

The aureoles.

The aureoles around the MoonOften looking at the Moon through the fleecy clouds or transparent mist one may notice small rainbow rings around the Moon. These rings are called areoles. They are formed in a result of light difraction on the microdrops of water. The bigger the drop the smaller diameter of the aureoles.

From ancient times people noticed that the small aureoles forcast rain and the big ones - the good weather. This occurrence is called in folk " the moon in a castle".

The aureoles may be seen around the Sun too, but the bright light of the day luminary prevents their discovery.

Polar lights.

The Earth is constantly staying in rarefied flood of the charged particles giving of by the Sun (electrons, protons). Coming into the upper layer of atmosphere the particles are moving along the power line of the Earth magnetic field. Near the magnet poles the power lines are directed down to the Earth. The charged particles penetrate into the dense layers of atmosphere and influence the air moleculas arising the atmosphere lightning - the Polar lights.

The Polar lights are very different in their state and brightness. In ancient times there were a whiteness, some rainbow beams, deep purples, dawns and afterglows, poles and columns. Generally the Pole lights look like shining spots or tapes hanging in the sky as a fantastic curtain.

Полярное сияние
Aurora

The Polar light "Arlekin"
"Arlekin"

The Polar light "A curtain"
"A curtain"