parhelic circle

noun Meteorology.

a white, horizontal band passing through the sun, either incomplete or extending around the horizon, produced by the reflection of the sun's rays from the vertical faces of ice prisms in the atmosphere.

Nearby words

parfum, pargasite, parget, pargeting, parging, parhelic circle, parhelion, pari passu, pari-, pari-mutuel, paria

Origin of parhelic circle

First recorded in 1885–90; parhel(ion) + -ic

Also called parheliacal ring.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for parhelic circle

parhelic circle

noun

meteorol a luminous band at the same altitude as the sun, parallel to the horizon, caused by reflection of the sun's rays by ice crystals in the atmosphere

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for parhelic circle

parhelic circle

[ pär-hē′lĭk ]

A luminous halo visible at the height of the Sun and parallel to the horizon, caused by the Sun's rays reflecting off atmospheric ice crystals.