What are sun and moon halos?
- Published
Have you ever seen a halo or circle of light around the sun or moon?
Stunning sun halo captured in Lossiemouth, Moray, by Skywatcher.
This happens when we have a thin layer of cirrus cloud moving across the sky. Cirrus is very high cloud made up of ice crystals.
Beautiful composition of a sun halo around a tree in Moorhouse, Cumbria. Photo by Helen.
Eye and its pupil. Photo by carlas garden.
Sometimes the cirrus is so thin we are not aware of any cloud in the sky. However as it passes in front of the sun, refraction of the light by the ice crystals causes the halo to form.
Jimbo shared this picture of a moon halo
We can also sometimes see the same effect when it's a clear night with a full moon and the thin layer of cirrus moves across the moonlit sky.
Andy captured this stunning image of a full moon halo.
