Lunar Halo

I just read that last night there was a ring around the full moon, so I went out back to take a look and sure enough there is a lunar halo up in the dark cold night. It is a slight, faded remnant and, Of course, the clarity that is revealed to the naked eye is not so prevalant through the lense of my camera so no rolling of the eyes please.

A ring around the moon is caused by the refraction of moonlight within the cirrus clouds or ice crystals that create the ring in the upper atmosphere. The light shines through the cirrus ice crystals, refract and produce the ring.

Incomplete halos show up as arcs or patches of hazy refraction, which is the case tonight. Such arcs are sometimes called moonbows, while the bright patches are known as moondogs.

I just love cosmology jargon. Don’t you?

This was taken last night, by a photo buff, and can be found here 

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