moon halo

[Evil Sid]

at around six this morning i was wandering around sankey valley taking the dog for a walk. it was fairly clear and i noticed that the moon was bright enough to cause a shadow to be cast. on spending a few seconds in a part that was free of light pollution looking at the moon i noticed a distinct ring surrounding it.

 

it looked just like a huge smoke ring and was a perfect circle formed in the slight mist that was present. it was not close to the moon but some distance around it. not something i have ever seen before and wondered if anybody had seen something similar or even noticed the one this morning for those rising early for work or those getting back from the night shift repairing church roofs.

[wolfie]

Should have gone to Specsavers

[asperity]

Sounds like a Lunar Halo Sid:

 

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/G_MOON/MOONHALO.HTM

[Wingnut]

Looking at Asperity's photograph, yes I have seen those on a small number of occasions. The first time was as a young child and it gave me nightmares. I did'nt understand it and I thought the world was comeing to an end. I can remember crying to my grandparents and begging them not to go outside.

[Evil Sid]

yep that was it amazing sight.

[Bill]

It's quite a common effect especially on cold and frosty nights where the water vapour refracts the light creating the halo effect. This also happens with the sun but it's extreemly difficult to see the full halo. When the suns setting, you can often see what are called sundogs that are very bright irredescent patches quite a way off either side of the sun and these are part of the halo.

 

Like this

 

Bill

[fugtifino]

Yeah, I've seen this before, though none of the images I've seen on the web do it justice; what I remember of what I saw was that the halo was MASSIVE, and there was no difference in colour between the inside or the outside of the halo.

 

Magical stuff.

[algy]

had a look last night and there was a halo around the moon but I don,t think it was the same as Sid observed as this wasn't huge and it had a brownish tinge to it also the night sky had a thin layer of haze.