There was a note and a photograph on the astronomy club mailing list that one of the members posted showing a ring around the moon. So I grabbed my camera and went outside, and there was the ring! Other members said it was cloudy and they couldn't see it. This ring is called a 22 degree halo. It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that forms as sunlight or moonlight is refracted by millions of hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere as clouds. Halos appear when the sky is covered by thin cirrus, or cirrostratus clouds that often come a few days before a large storm front. That was pretty technical, for something so beautiful and poetic as this.
I was in Alaska recently and saw my very first moon ring. It was stunning. When I researched it, the site said they're pretty common, but I've never seen one before. So glad I got to see and photograph that one.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda: Thanks for your comment. I only saw this Lunar halo when someone in my astronomy club posted that he had just seen and photographed the ring. So I grabbed my camera and went out to shoot this. So many things in the sky we never get to see because we are not outside!
ReplyDeleteThis photo is so exciting to see! Love your line "something so beautiful and poetic". Perfect! betsey
ReplyDelete