Circumzenithal arc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Circumzenithal arc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The circumzenithal arc or circumzenith arc (CZA), also called the

Bravais' arc, is an optical phenomenon similar in appearance to a
rainbow, but it belongs to the family of halos arising from refraction of
sunlight through ice crystals, generally in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds,
rather than from raindrops. The arc is located at a considerable distance
(approximately 46) above the sun and at most forms a quarter of a
circle centered on the zenith. It has been called "a smile in the sky", its
first impression being that of an upside-down rainbow. The CZA is one
of the brightest and most colorful members of the halo family. Its colors,
ranging from violet on top to red at the bottom, are purer than those of a
rainbow because there is much less overlap in their formation.
Contrary to public awareness, the CZA is not a rare phenomenon (it
occurs much more often than rainbows), but it tends to be overlooked
since it occurs so far overhead. It is worthwhile to look out for it when
sun dogs are visible, since the same type of ice crystals that cause them
(plate-shaped hexagonal prisms in horizontal orientation) are responsible
for the CZA.[1]

Circumzenithal arc in Salem,

Massachusetts, Oct 27, 2012. Also
visible are a supralateral arc, Parry
arc, and upper tangent arc.

Contents
1 Formation
2 Lunar circumzenithal arc
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Formation
The light that forms the CZA enters an ice crystal through its flat top face, and exits through a side prism face.
The refraction of almost parallel sunlight through what is essentially a 90-degree prism accounts for the wide
color separation and the purity of color. The CZA can only form when the sun is at an altitude lower than
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32.2.[2] The CZA is brightest when the sun is at 22 above the horizon, which causes sunlight to enter and exit
the crystals at the minimum deviation angle; then it is also about 22 in radius, 3 in width. The CZA radius
varies between 32.2 and 0 depending on the solar altitude. Towards either of the extremes it is vanishingly
faint. When the sun is above 32.2, light exits the crystals through the bottom face instead, to contribute to the
almost colorless parhelic circle.

Lunar circumzenithal arc

As with all halos, the CZA can be caused by light from the moon as well as from the sun: the former is referred
to as a lunar circumzenithal arc.[3] Its occurrence is rarer than the solar variety, since it requires the moon to
be sufficiently bright, which is typically only the case around full moon.

See also
Circumhorizontal arc
Kern arc
Sundogs

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to
Circumzenithal arc.

References
1. http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/czaform.htm
2. http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/czasalt.htm
3. http://www.atoptics.co.uk/fz793.htm

David K. Lynch and William Livingston. Color and Light in Nature. 2nd ed, 2004 printing.
Les Cowley. "Circumzenithal Arc". Atmospheric optics. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
Les Cowley. "CZA - Effect of solar altitude". Atmospheric Optics. Retrieved 2007-04-23.

External links
Atmospheric Optics - About CZAs (http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/cza.htm)
Atmospheric Optics - Circumzenithal Arc Gallery (http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/czaim1.htm)
Circumzenithal arc over Rome, Italy (http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=646937)
Timelapse video of weak Circumzenithal Arc (http://www.vimeo.com/654128)
Physics of the circumzenithal arc (http://iapetus.jb.man.ac.uk/cza/CZA.html)
Images from the UK by Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society
(http://cmhas.wikispaces.com/Atmospheric_Phenomena)
Circumzenithal Arc Over Frisco, TX | 1-23-11 | Clouds 365 Project - Year 2
(http://www.clouds365.com/year2/1-23-11)
Spaceweather.com Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley created a diagram labeling the halos
(http://www.spaceweather.com/images2014/10feb14/alberta_halos.jpg?
PHPSESSID=r5vsrr742oq6aq8cmtrgt018k7)

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Categories: Geometrical optics Atmospheric optical phenomena
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