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Parhelia, or Mock Suns: Sometimes

We now proceed to describe THE HALO, OR CORONA; AND SIMILAR APPEARANCES. - An Halo is a luminous circle surrounding the sun, moon, planets, or fixed stars. Occasionally these circles are white, and sometimes they are coloured like the rainbow. Sometimes one only is visible, and at others several concentric halos appear at the same time. Mr. Huygens observed red next the sun, and a pale blue outwards. Sometimes they are red on the inside, and white on the outside. In France, one was observed in 1683, the middle of which was white; after which followed a border of red, next to it was blue, then green, and the outermost circle was a bright red. In 1728, one was seen of a pale red outwardly, then followed yellow, and then green, terminated by a white. In Holland, M. Muschenbroek says, fifty may be seen in the day-time, almost every year; but they are difficult to be observed, except the eye be so situated, that not the body of the sun, but only the neighbouring parts of the heavens, can be seen. Mr. Middleton says, that this phenomenon is very frequent in North America; for that there is generally one or two about the sun every week, and as many about the moon every month.

Halos round the sun are very frequent in Russia. M. Æpinus says, that from the 23d of April, 1758, to the 20th of September, he himself had observed no less than twenty-six, and that he has sometimes seen twice as many in the same space of time.

Similar, in some respects, to the halo, was the remarkable appearance which M. Bouguer describes, as observed on the top of Mount Pichinca, in the Cordilleras. When the sun was just rising behind them, so as to appear white, each of hem saw his own shadow projected upon it, and no other. The distance was such, that all the parts of the shadow were easily distinguishable, as the arms, the legs, and the head; but what surprised them most was, that the head was adorned with