A whitish halo around the Sun, or a bright sheen visible in a nearby layer of thin clouds, is often the result of Mie scattering.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mie scattering occurs when the particles causing the scattering are of a similar size to the wavelength of the radiation being scattered. This can result in a whitish halo around the Sun or a bright sheen in thin clouds, as the scattering is more uniform in all directions compared to Rayleigh scattering, which is more effective at shorter wavelengths and causes the sky to appear blue.

A Whitish Halo Around the Sun, or a Bright Sheen