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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Published on: July 30, 2020

Simulating halos and coronas in their atmospheric environment.

Stanley David Gedzelman¹

¹Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and NOAA CREST Center, City College of New York New York, New York 10031, USA. stan@sci.ccny.cuny.edu

|November 28, 2008

Summary

This study models sky light, halos, and coronas, showing their visibility depends on atmospheric conditions like cloud depth and solar angle. Optimal color and brightness occur at specific cloud optical depths (tau(cld)).

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Area of Science:

Atmospheric optics
Radiative transfer modeling

Background:

Sky light, halos, and coronas are optical phenomena influenced by atmospheric composition and solar illumination.
Understanding these phenomena requires detailed models accounting for various atmospheric parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop models simulating sky light, halos, and coronas.
To investigate the influence of atmospheric pressure, cloud properties, solar angle, aerosols, and ozone on these optical phenomena.

Main Methods:

Simulated singly scattered sunbeams, accounting for depletion during atmospheric passage.
Incorporated multiple scattering for background cloud light.
Analyzed halo and corona visibility based on cloud optical depth (tau(cld)) and solar zenith angle.

Main Results:

Halos (from hexagonal crystals) and coronas (from droplets) are visible for 0.0003 <= tau(cld) <= 7.
Peak brightness and color saturation occur when tau(cld) is less than the cosine of the observer's zenith angle.
Solar angle affects brightness: low sun requires smaller tau(cld) for bright displays, with variations based on cloud height and width.

Conclusions:

The developed models accurately simulate atmospheric optical phenomena.
Cloud optical depth and solar geometry are critical factors determining the visibility and characteristics of halos, coronas, and skylight.
The findings provide insights into the conditions necessary for observing these colorful atmospheric displays.