Sun
Summary: How many suns are there in the sky? In March 2006, citizens of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, were surprised to find three or even four suns in the sky. For a time, citizens talked a lot. Some said it was a sign of an earthquake, others said it was a sign of a drought, etc. People panicked. Some citizens even thought it was a reappearance of Hou Yi shooting the sun in ancient times. Why are there several suns in the sky? What circumstances caused this phenomenon? What omen does this phenomenon represent and what consequences will it bring us?
If someone asks you how many suns there are in the sky, you will probably find it ridiculous. There is only one sun in the sky. As everyone knows, in the solar system, the earth revolves around the sky. sun, and the sun rises from the est and shines on the earth, bringing energy to the earth. However, something unexpected happened in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province.
Master Yu, who lives in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, has the habit of exercising every morning. On the morning of March 3, 2006, Master Yu rode his bicycle to the nearby woods to exercise as usual. But when Master Yu accidentally looked up at the sky, a phenomenon that surprised him occurred.
Master Yu, a citizen of Daqing: It was around 7 o'clock when I did the morning exercises. As I was running, I looked up and saw four suns.
At first, Master Yu thought his eyes were a little dazzled. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky carefully, but there was actually more than one sun in the sky.
Master Yu, citizen of Daqing: There are four rays of light coming from the sun, and the distance is not too big.
Just when Master Yu was surprised by the appearance of four suns in the sky, Wang Chuanjun, who was working in the Daqing High-Tech Zone, suddenly discovered this strange sight when he was going to work: there was actually a sun next to the rising sun. Three “little suns” appeared, so there were actually four suns in the sky.
Wang Fujun, a citizen of Daqing: While I was at work on March 3, I accidentally looked at the sky and saw the sunrise. Two balls of light came out from both sides, a ball of light appeared. at the top, and three more balls of light came out. Three balls of light appeared from the center of the sun. I was very surprised that these balls of light were so bright.
As Master Yu and Xiao Wang usually get up early, they can detect the sun's anomalies in the sky relatively early. VShow is it possible that there are four suns in the sky? Master Yu and Xiao Wang's first reaction was to report information to the reporter and ask what was going on? Is anything special happening today?
Xu Fuhu is a reporter for Daqing Evening News. He covers social news in Daqing City and is relatively well-known among residents of Daqing City. Master Yu and Wang Fujun thought of calling him first.
Xu Fuhu, reporter for Daqing Evening News: It was around 6 a.m. on March 3 and I was still sleeping. The nature of our work requires us to stay up late every night and wake up. late in the morning call me and tell me to hurry up. Come on, are you journalists? There were three suns outside. We got up in a daze and went out. I've never seen anything like this before.
Xu Fuhu also felt strange. Are you dazzled? How can there be several suns in the sky? He made an appointment with photojournalist Wang Qingsong and rushed to Times Square, the most spacious area in Daqing, to observe and see what was happening.
Photojournalist Wang Qingsong: I didn't think about anything at the time. I picked up the camera and started taking pictures because I was afraid that this phenomenon would be fleeting and that I wouldn't be able to capture it. he. When I came out, there were three suns shining together, which were in a line, much like our original line segment. There were three suns at this end, at that end, at that end and the one in the middle was one. Round sun with dots on both sides. Crescent shape with very clean edges. The sun in the middle is not very visible. You have to look carefully, especially when looking through the lens, to see the fourth sun.
The two reporters oWere also attracted by this strange phenomenon. Why are there so many suns in the sky?
Photojournalist Wang Qingsong: Four suns appeared at the same time. What a surprise. I've never seen it before and found it very strange. We thought it must be a heavenly sight. We really don't know what it is. name is.
At that time, when it was time to go to work, more and more citizens noticed anomalies in the sky. Various speculations are also spreading in Daqing City. Could the presence of several suns in the sky be a bad omen? This kind of worry is also spreading in the hearts of citizens.
Citizen 1: That's quite strange, I've never seen it before.
Citizen 2: I can't explain the specific phenomenon.
Citizen 3: Panic, what's the problem?
Photojournalist Wang Qingsong: This moment happens to bethe peak period when everyone is at work. This spectacle can be seen with the naked eye, so everyone wants to know what it is and what kind of phenomenon it is. .
On July 25, 2005, eight months ago, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in Lindian County, Daqing City. At that time, the epicenter was located 33 kilometers north of Daqing City. Citizens of Daqing City are still worried about the earthquake. Several suns appeared in the sky. Some citizens speculated that they were called lid suns, indicating that another earthquake would occur in Daqing.
Interview: It was previously said that Daqing was going to be hit by an earthquake. Is there any sign of this? If an earthquake should actually occur, we will call to consult and make preparations to prevent it. earthquakes in advance. Because around the mAugust last year, there was a small earthquake in the Daqing area. It must be said that the seismic panic lasted until March 3. Many people thought the weather would change and there would be another earthquake. because the people of Daqing were not sure. Things are quite sensitive. After I returned to the newspaper office, our news hotline was flooded with calls, including my own cell phone and those of our colleagues. It was a phenomenon, whether there was another earthquake or something like that, force majeure.
There are many suns in the sky, and indeed, many people have never seen them. In addition to worrying about earthquakes, people also remembered the ancient legend that Hou Yi shot the sun.
This legend says that during the time of Yao, the skyTen suns appeared in the sky at the same time, burning theOn the ground, the crops withered and the people were so hot that they could no longer breathe. Due to the scorching heat, strange birds and beasts also ran out of burning rivers, dry lakes and forests, killing people everywhere. Disasters on earth alarmed the gods in heaven. The Emperor of Heaven ordered Hou Yi, who was skilled in archery, to come down to earth to help Yao eliminate the suffering of the people. Hou Yi took the bow and arrows given to him by the Emperor of Heaven and began to shoot at the sun. In an instant, nine of the ten suns were shot down. It was only because Yao thought that leaving a sun would be helpful to people that he stopped Hou Yi from continuing to shoot. This is the famous story of Hou Yi shooting the sun. Thinking of this story, people speculated that if four suns appeared at the same time in Daqing this time, it would be the same as in ancient times, and Daqingwould be torn and suffer from a long-term drought?
Daqing City is located in the Songnen Plain in the north and belongs to a typical semi-arid climate zone. Daqing City has always experienced low precipitation, high evaporation and insufficient water. They say there is a drought nine times out of ten. So, will the presence of so many suns in the sky cause earthquakes this time or will it worsen droughts? Will this really lead to a huge disaster as legend has it? For a time, citizens talked a lot.
Citizen: Is there a change in the sky? Four suns appear. If there are five, people will definitely have nowhere to live.
Photojournalist Wang Qingsong: People around us watched us taking photos. Some of them paid attention, and some of them didn't. They asked usnd what was happening, what was wrong, how this could happen. Although we don't know it, this is the first time we've seen this.
That day, the weather observer on duty at the Daqing Meteorological Bureau was Wang Chunshun. He discovered this strange phenomenon during a weather watch around 7 a.m.
Wang Chunshun from the Observation Section of the Daqing Meteorological Bureau: The first thing I felt at the time was why there were so many suns at that time, it was very rare and I had never seen this kind of sun. of the sun.
Wang Chunshun quickly informed the department head of this strange phenomenon. The Daqing Meteorological Bureau summoned experts to discuss what exactly this phenomenon is? It was the first time for many experts to see so many suns in the sky. By looking at weather data and combining it with climateof Daqing in recent days, experts determined that it must be a solar halo phenomenon.
Guo Hongqing, deputy director of the Daqing Meteorological Bureau: This phenomenon of several days sharing the same brightness actually belongs to the category of halos, which are divided into solar halo and lunar halo. A halo will be produced, called a halo in meteorology. Sometimes there will be bright spots on both sides of the halo. When we ordinary people observe it, we will feel such light above, below, left and right. the points are collectively called "same glory on multiple days" or "same glory on the 4th, 3rd or 5th".
The phenomenon of solar halos is very rare, so it arouses great interest. In fact, the halo phenomenon is somewhat similar to the rainbow phenomenon that we observe every day. The rainbow is due to the fact that after a heavy rain, there are still many small dropsyour rain in the sky. These little raindrops are like little prisms. The sunlight is decomposed by the prism and becomes red. The seven colorful lights of orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple form a rainbow. The solar halo is caused by the refraction of column-shaped ice crystals. In addition to solar halos, moonlight can also form lunar halos. Here are some photos of the solar halo scene taken by photographers. You can see that the inside of the solar halo is red and the outside is purple.
The solar halo is an astronomical phenomenon caused by the appearance of cirrostratus clouds composed of ice crystals at an altitude of 5,000 meters. Ice crystals in cirrostratus clouds undergo physical changes such as refraction and reflection after being irradiated by the sun. Sunlight breaks down into red, yellow, green, violet andvery colors, so that a huge colored halo appears around the sun, called a. Halo. .
Yuan Tao from the observation section of the Daqing Meteorological Bureau: In the sky, there is a little water vapor in the sky, due to the lower temperature, under the clouds of cirrocumulus or cirrostratus, the clouds contain. lots of water. When steam solidifies when exposed to cold, it forms small hexagonal ice crystals like this.
The appearance of the sundog is due to the fact that at the symmetrical points on both sides of the solar halo, ice crystals transform into countless small mirrors. These small mirrors reflect sunlight one after another, making them appear particularly. bright, and many suns will appear. Virtual image is the strange “phantom sun”. If the weather conditions are suitable, you can sometimes see a sundog at each of the pointse upper, lower, left and right symmetry of the sun, then there will be five “suns” in the sky.
Yuan Tao from the Observation Section of the Daqing Meteorological Bureau: The meteorological phenomenon called multi-day simultaneous brightness requires relatively harsh weather conditions. First, there must be an appropriate amount of clouds in the sky, because this cloud. It is the material support that produces the co-glow phenomenon for several days. If there are too few clouds, it cannot form. If there are too many clouds, the light will be directly absorbed by the clouds, so it cannot reach. floor. The second condition is that there must be sufficient water vapor in the air and there must be a relatively large number of ice crystals, usually hexagonal, so that light can be refracted. The other is that the wind requirements must be relatively low and the atmospheresphere must be relatively stable, otherwise regular ice crystals will be disrupted and regular refraction of light will not form.
However, what perplexes meteorology experts is that the conditions for the formation of solar halos are very harsh. Daqing City has never experienced such a celestial phenomenon since meteorological data became available in 1957.
Yuan Tao from the Observation Section of the Daqing Meteorological Bureau: Because Daqing is a region which experiences drought nine times out of ten, practically every year, and the conditions for this meteorological phenomenon to occur are very demanding there. There must be enough water vapor.
The nights of March 2 and 3 basically corresponded to this meteorological phenomenon. The wind was gentle and the water vapor content that day was basically between 40% and 60% and 70%. , the water vapor content is relativelyhigh ent. It is very rare to see it in the Daqing area, which is why this weather phenomenon is believed to have formed.
So, what will the sudden and rare solar halo phenomenon bring to Daqing? Will this really indicate an upcoming earthquake or earth rupture as everyone has guessed? Field of ancient legendsWill the scene appear again in Daqing? Citizens kept calling the Daqing Meteorological Bureau to find out.
Daqing Meteorological Bureau: This phenomenon is occurring. This is a normal phenomenon. This is called solar magic.
And many citizens reported to weather experts that in some places in Daqing City, four suns could be seen, while in other places, only two or three suns could be seen . Why is it? Is it because the air in Daqing is polluted and heavily polluted places see less sunlight?
Citizen 1: I haveseen two suns, probably two.
Citizen 2: Three, definitely three.
Journalist: Is this situation due to air pollution? Because Daqing is an industrial city with many chemical and refining companies, they believe it has a relatively large impact on the environment.
Experts pointed out that the air quality in Daqing City is actually very good. The difference in the number of suns observed at different locations is not due to the deterioration of the air in Daqing.
Expert: Sometimes we see two days with the same brightness, three days with the same brightness, four days with the same brightness, and five days with the same brightness. Generally, more often than not, it's the same thing. brightness on the fifth day. This is mainly because the positions of our observers are different, so the angle between the halo and the halo is different. Generally, when the soit still forms a halo and there are observation points, and these three points. are approximately on a straight line, the observation is like this The brightest points are the most visible, the most advantageous, and the position where one can see the most The greater the deviation from this angle is bigger, the less the sun or moon can be. observed.
To illustrate the problem that the number of suns we see is different depending on the viewing angle, let's do an experiment. From this angle we can see two virtual images of the sun. If we change the angle, we can see three virtual images of the sun. We therefore see different landscapes from different viewing angles.
From around 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., the solar halo process in Daqing City lasted about 2 hours. The sky returned to its former appearance, and the sundog in the sky gradually disappeared.
Meteorological Bureau Staff: As it happensAs this weather condition gradually disappears, this phenomenon will dissipate naturally.
Master Yu, citizen of Daqing: I went out around 6:50 a.m. We probably observed it outside around 9:30 a.m., and this phenomenon gradually disappeared, as the sun gradually rose.
However, since the solar halo phenomenon occurred on March 3, Daqing City faced strong winds and even sandstorms for three consecutive days on March 4, 5. and March 6. On March 10, spring snow fell in Daqing City and the temperature dropped more than 10 degrees. The citizens can't help but think of the scene of four days of sunshine. Is this an anomaly caused by the sun? Will Daqing experience snowstorms or floods in the future? Everyone who had regained their calm became worried again.
Citizens: To sow panic among people, thisPanic has always persistedé, especially after the appearance of this meteorological phenomenon, which caused great panic among citizens.
Experts from the Daqing Meteorological Bureau were not surprised by the sudden strong winds and the cooling weather. They thought it was a normal weather change.
Daqing Meteorological Bureau: The multi-day simultaneous glow phenomenon usually occurs in cirrostratus clouds. Cirrostratus clouds are usually on the windward side, and cirrostratus clouds usually appear in front of the clouds. after the appearance of the phenomenon of simultaneous luminosity over several days in cirrostratus, it can be followed by the passage of a cold wind or a warm wind. Generally speaking, when cold wind and hot wind pass, it will be accompanied by a little wind. appearance of precipitation. Especially on March 10, there was a heavy snow and snowstorm in Daqing. The windreached level 7 at that time. Due to the strong wind, snow fell in the sky, causing all the sand and dust to fall. beneficial impact on the lives of citizens.
There is a popular proverb that says: “The sun is wreathed in rain at midnight and the moon is wreathed in wind at noon. » The appearance of the halos of the sun and the moon means that stormy weather is coming. Therefore, the appearance of solar halos is not a bad omen, but a normal meteorological change. There is no data showing that the solar dog is linked to earthquakes. After patient explanations and publicity from the Meteorological Bureau experts, the residents of Daqing City finally felt relieved. This sun dog phenomenon has given many people a false alarm. If we master more weather knowledge, we can also predict weather changes based onMeteorology.