

26
2007



While I was out the other night I looked up at the almost full moon and noticed a very distinct halo around it. I’ve never seen anything like it and it kinda freaked me out. I suspect it had something to do with light and atmosphere and all that jazz.
It was a clear and cold, maybe upper 30s, when I got home at around 2AM. Now the ring was really clear, I even noticed some color. Then I realized that it was the color spectrum and that I was looking at a rainbow halo. Apparently it’s cause by the light from the moon (reflected from the sun) refracting through cirrostratus clouds which contained ice crystals. See, you learn something everyday.
Interestingly, “Cirrostratus” also happens to be the name of a short lived late 90s progressive folk rock band, whose biggest hit was titled Halo of the Moon. Wow, who knew I can make up such bullshit? Only this last part though, the rest of the meteorological stuff is all true. I tried taking pictures but my ultra compact just wasn’t up to the task. The above picture is from google, click here for more.









