When might you be able to see a halo around your head, and what would cause this?

What will be the ideal response?


ANSWER: On a clear morning with dew on the grass, stand facing the dew with your back to the sun and observe that, around the shadow of your head, is a bright area—the Heiligenschein (German for halo). The Heiligenschein forms when sunlight, which falls on nearly spherical dew drops, is focused and reflected back toward the sun along nearly the same path that it took originally. (Light reflected in this manner is said to be retroreflected.) The light, however, does not travel along the exact path; it actually spreads out just enough to be seen as bright white light around the shadow of your head on a dew-covered lawn.?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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