While the moon goes on its lolloping way around the sky at night – it does so relatively and mostly unnoticed – even by the most ardent lunatics and especially when it’s only at half mast as it was last night.
Last night’s half moon was minding its own business and getting through the night shift as usual until the clouds began to take on the appearance of throwing a socially distanced halo around it.
Was it a message to us earthlings?
Not a Harbinger of Good News
Lovely and all as it undoubtedly was, it was not a harbinger of good news on the weather front.
Lunar halos or rings around the moon are caused by light reflecting off ice crystals trapped in the light away up there.
It is a regular occurrence but it’s rarely as flamboyant and obvious as it was last night and this has to do with the density or transparency of the clouds surrounding the moon at the time.
What it means here on earth is that it signifies a change in the weather conditions here and, given the pleasant patch we’ve just had, that’s not good news.
Rings Around the Sun
Rings around the sun appear also but with the same kind of rarity. But, with the sun, it requires a greater level of care if you wish to photograph this occurrence in not looking through the eye piece of your camera.
Point your camera or phone in the general direction of the sun and close your eyes and in the case of the camera, open the shutter at a high speed rating and at the smallest aperture.
Planet Facts Explains All
What is causing these beautiful apparition in the sky during night and day? I looked up a site called Planet Facts and it explains all. And there’s a remarkable similarity between the rings which form around both the Sun and Moon.
“Are there really rings around the Sun like the planet Saturn? When a person stares at the sky, sometimes they see a ring around the Sun.
But most people haven’t seen those rings before. The rings that encircle the Sun make people curious of what causes it to appear and disappear all of a sudden. Why is it not constantly there? What are those rings made up of and what is its significance?
The Sun does not have any rings. If one looks through a telescope and observes it, there are no such rings like those found in other planets.
Rings are Called Halos
The rings around the Sun that some have observed are called halos. What causes those halos? A cloud called cirrostratus is made up of ice crystals. These ice crystals that are suspended on the cirrostratus clouds are hexagonal in shape. Of course its shape can only be seen using a microscope. The Sun’s light passes through these crystals and it will disperse the light and act like a prism.
The halos have different sizes. The most commonly seen is the 22-degrees radius.
Deflected by Crystals
There are instances though that a ring as big as 46-degrees radius sometimes appear. It also has different colours. The white one is most observed but there are also red, blue and rainbow colour. It is believed that the colour radiating from the halos depends on how it is deflected by the crystals.
The rings around the Sun were used before to predict the weather.
Mind your Eyes
When a ring or halo is seen around the Sun and even the Moon, it may indicate that rain or snow will be coming soon. It may not be very accurate because other factors also affect the weather but it can sure give one an idea. Just be careful when staring at the halos. It may look interesting but looking at it direct might damage ones eyes.”
While we’re talking about matters out of this world, have a listen this day brightening beauty as Claudio Baglioni sings Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna or Brother Sun, Sister Moon.
It’s a love song to the life giving forces of nature and everything around us that we should love. Click here to hear: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/fratello-sole-sorella-luna-brother-sun-sister-moon.html
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