Abstract
We describe the individual contributions to the intensity distribution of the parhelic circle for plate-oriented hexagonal crystals at exactly zero solar elevation using geometrical optics. An experimental as well as theoretical study of in-plane ray paths provides details on the mechanism for several halos, including the parhelia, the 120° and 90° parhelia, a blue edge, and the Liljequist parhelia. Azimuthal coordinates for associated characteristic features in the intensity distribution are compared with experimental data obtained using a spinning hexagonal glass prism.
© 2015 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Günther P. Können and Jaap Tinbergen
Appl. Opt. 37(9) 1457-1464 (1998)
Mika Sillanpää, Jarmo Moilanen, Marko Riikonen, and Marko Pekkola
Appl. Opt. 40(30) 5275-5279 (2001)
David K. Lynch
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 69(8) 1100-1103 (1979)