anthelion

American  

[ant-hee-lee-uhn, an-thee-] / æntˈhi li ən, ænˈθi- /

noun

• anthelia
  plural

1. a luminous, white spot occasionally appearing at the sun's elevation but in the opposite part of the sky.

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anthelion British  

/ æntˈhiːlɪən, ænˈθiː- /

noun

1. a faint halo sometimes seen in polar or high altitude regions around the shadow of an object cast onto a thick cloud bank or fog

2. a white spot occasionally appearing on the parhelic circle at the same height as and opposite to the sun

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anthelion Scientific  

/ ănt-hē′lē-ən,ăn-thē′- /

• anthelia
  plural

1. A bright white or colored spot appearing at times in the sky opposite the Sun. White anthelia are believed to form from light that is reflected off atmospheric ice crystals; colored anthelia are believed to form from light that is refracted by atmospheric ice crystals.

2. Compare parhelion

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• anthelia
  plural

Etymology

Origin of anthelion

1660–70; < Late Greek anthḗlion, neuter of anthḗlios opposite the sun, equivalent to ant- ant- + hḗli ( os ) the sun + -os adj. suffix

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anthelion anthelia

What of the silhouette or the anthelion of the Scandinavian Alps, and the aerial cities so often seen by explorers and travelers?

From Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted, or what's in a dream: a scientific and practical exposition by Gustavus Hindman Miller

It was the first anthelia that the lovely girl had seen, and it filled her with wonder and awe.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 04 — Fiction by Sir John Alexander Hammerton

In the first class we have halos, and coronae, or “glories,” which encircle the luminary; the second class includes rainbows, fog-bows, mist-halos, anthelia and mountain-spectres, whose centres are at the anti-solar point.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 8 "Haller, Albrecht" to "Harmonium" by Various

Other meteorological phenomena caused by the diffraction of light include the anthelia, and the chromatic rings seen encircling shadows thrown on a bank of clouds, mist or fog.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various