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Hevelian halo

American

[huh-vey-lee-uhn] / həˈveɪ li ən /

noun

a faint white halo with an angular radius of 90° that is occasionally seen around the sun or the moon, thought to be caused by the reflection and refraction of sunlight by ice crystals.

Etymology

Origin of Hevelian halo

After J. Hevelius; see -ian

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.