Weird Moon Halo

Post Reply New Topic

I saw this strange halo around the moon tonight. It was clear around the moon and then it looks like a ridge of clouds in a perfect circle around the moon, as if the moon had "pushed through" the cloudy sky.

Here is the specific information I recorded:

Time: 8:20p MST
Date: 28 Feb 2007

Position of Moon
~70 degrees up looking from east
~70 degrees up looking from south

Halo Radius
~30*Diameter of Moon
Starts at ~45 degrees up from south

I think a halo means impending precipitation?Looks lovely,but I think it is going to snow....hate driving in snow....

I just did a search. Apparently it was a moondog.

whats a moondog?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_dog

Nice,thanks,I thought it was a smaller halo,I dont think I have ever seen one that large.

This web sites has other Atmospheric effects. Has halos, rainbows, very high clouds.
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/

There is a lunar eclipse on Saturday (10.24pm to 11.58pm. GMT) Could be that this phenomena happens in particular close to an eclipse?

It's due to little ice crystals high up in the atmosphere.

Superb stuff. Thanks enormously for the link.

I used to live down in Cornwall, on the north coast. You get some spectacular "seeing" at times. I recall more than once seeing the full moon 22 degree ice halo. Spectacular.

I was down there for the (2000?) eclipse - in a field full of astronomers. The clouds neatly covered the entire sky just before first contact.

And I am too far west to see it -- by moonrise here, the eclipse will be over.

I wonder how that correlates to the character Moondoggy from Eureka Seven?