Refraction deflects photons that pass through atmospheres, which affects transit light curves. Refraction thus provides an avenue to probe physical properties of exoplanet atmospheres and to constrain ...

No this isn’t about dogs that are relaxing in the sun. This Weather Kids lesson is about sundogs! Some may say they’re the best friend of atmospheric optics. What are atmospheric optics? Atmospheric ...

On cold, sunny days, tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere can create breathtaking displays like halos, sundogs, and light pillars.

Sunlight may be the bright, warming glow that heats and powers the Earth, but it's so much more than that. If you pass sunlight through a prism, you can see how it's actually composed of all the ...

Rainbows are optical phenomena resulting from the interaction of sunlight, water droplets, and the human visual system, not physical objects. Scientific understanding of rainbows developed over ...

Astronomers and Earth’s atmosphere are natural enemies. Stargazers want crisp, clear images of their celestial targets, whereas winds and clouds scatter and block starlight in ways that can scuttle ...

If life exists on planets beyond our solar system, its presence could be obscured by the haze and clouds in the planet's atmosphere. Even next generation telescopes — such as the James Webb Space ...

Meteorologist Zach Maloch captured this morning's gorgeous sunrise from cameras atop the tower atop the WRAL studios on Western Boulevard. The image shows off the Raleigh skyline but also demonstrates ...

Martian astronomy has some advantages. The surface pressure is near 8 millibars — less than 1 percent of Earth’s surface pressure — meaning that atmospheric refraction is insignificant. One effect of ...