Thursday, April 29, 2010

Skywatch

I realize the extra moon is Camera flare but the rings were
there last night --which is why I took a picture. What causes them?





I found this explanation on another blog

A halo around the moon forms in the same way a halo around the sun forms. Light is refracted (or bent) by ice crystals, making a 22 degree halo. A 22 degree halo is the most common. See the diagram below to better understand how the light is refracted and where the 22 degree angle comes from.

Weather folklore says that a halo around the sun or moon means bad weather is on the way. I've also heard the number of stars inside the halo indicates the number of days before the bad weather will arrive.

11 comments:

Mojo said...

now if someone could just explain where those "ghost images" come from! But in this case, they really make the photo. Especially in the second frame. when I saw your thumbnail I thought you might have shot something through a telescope. Love it!

Sylvia K said...

Terrific captures, Marcia! And thanks for the interesting information! I had wondered about the halos, too! Hope you have a great weekend!

Sylvia

LV said...

You did a great job on that moon. Guess I am going to have to get out more at night as I did see that moon. However, I have heard all my life your explanations of the rings around the moon. You will know if it is true if we get bad weather this weekend.

Carolyn Ford said...

How interesting this is! I don't understand why I can capture the moon perfectly some times and get lens flare other times...it's been frustrating lately! But...it does create an interesting photo. The halo is beautiful!

iheartsunnydays said...

Such a beautiful shot, love the ghost image.

SandyCarlson said...

That is really wonderful. Thanks for the science behind the magic of your wonderful shots.

dianasfaria.com said...

beautiful! & thanks for the lesson, so interesting.

Hildred said...

Beautiful captures, - I knew it was moisture that caused the halo, but had never heard of the correlation between the number of stars and the days to bad weather!!

EG CameraGirl said...

This is such interesting information about halos. Ice crystals, eh? Thanks, Marcia!

fredamans said...

Amazing shots!

http://fredamans.blogspot.com/2010/04/sky-friday_29.html

The Texas Bakers said...

That full moon the other night was so awesome and you really captured it!