Sun halo on May 16, 2012 via EarthSky Facebook friend Nonya Justagirl
Moon halo, with Jupiter on the edge of the halo, seen December 23, 2012
by Danny Crocker Jensen in Wardsville, Missouri. Thanks, Danny!
A ring or circle of light around the sun or moon is called a halo
by scientists. We get many messages throughout each year from people
who’ve just spotted a ring around the sun or moon. People want to know:
what causes a halo around the sun or moon?
There’s an old weather saying: ring around the moon means rain soon.
There’s truth to this saying, because high cirrus clouds often come
before a storm. Notice in these photos that the sky looks fairly clear.
After all, you can see the sun or moon. And yet halos are a sign of
high thin cirrus clouds drifting 20,000 feet or more above our heads.
These clouds contain millions of tiny ice crystals. The halos you see are caused by both refraction, or splitting of light, and also by reflection,
or glints of light from these ice crystals. The crystals have to be
oriented and positioned just so with respect to your eye, in order for
the halo to appear.
That’s why, like rainbows, halos around the sun – or moon – are personal.
Everyone sees their own particular halo, made by their own particular
ice crystals, which are different from the ice crystals making the halo
of the person standing next to you.
Because moonlight isn’t very bright, lunar halos are mostly
colorless, but you might notice more red on the inside and more blue on
the outside of the halo. These colors are more noticeable in halos
around the sun. If you do see a halo around the moon or sun, notice that
the inner edge is sharp, while the outer edge is more diffuse. Also,
notice that the sky surrounding the halo is darker than the rest of the
sky.
Bottom line: Halos around the sun or moon happen when high, thin
cirrus clouds are drifting high above your head. Tiny ice crystals in
Earth’s atmosphere cause the halos. They do this by refracting and
reflecting the light. Lunar halos are signs that storms are nearby.
- EarthSky
