The Flat-out Truth
seekers of the plane truth have visited this page.What makes a halo around the sun or moon?
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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?
Follow the links below to learn more about lunar and solar halos.
Halo around the sun, seen from Sweden on April 24, 2014 and captured by
Jean Marie Andre Delaporte captured this image of a halo around the sun in Normandy, France on April 23, 2014.
Solar halo seen May 14, 2013 in Monmouth, NJ, as captured by
friend Stacey Baker-Bruno.
Thank you, Stacey!
Moon halo, with Jupiter on the edge of the halo, seen December 23, 2012 by Danny Crocker Jensen in Wardsville, Missouri.
Thanks, Danny!
Halos around the sun and moon are associated with storms.
On the night Superstorm Sandy made landfall in 2012, lunar halos were seen as far west in the U.S. as the state of Washington.
friend Susan Jensen in Odessa, Washington saw and photographed this delicate halo, as Sandy was carving its path of destruction along the U.S. East Coast.
What makes 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.
Lunar halo – with greenish northern lights on the left – as seen on the morning of October 8, 2012 by
friend Colin Chatfield in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Sun halo seen in Tucson, Arizona on September 27, 2012 by
friend Sean Parker Photography.
Thank you, Sean!
More from Sean
Sun halo seen in Washington state on May 16, 2012.
friend Sean Abbasi
If you see a halo, notice this!
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.
Sun halo on May 16, 2012 via
friend Nonya Justagirl
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The Moon that Embraces the Sun (?? ?? ?)
Set in the Joseon dynasty, two brothers find themselves falling in love with a female shaman, who does not remember her noble past. Lee Hwon is the Crown Prince, but he finds the role a burden to bear. He would rather have his older, more talented brother Yang Myung play the role, but because Yang Myung is an illegitimate child he has no right to the crown. When Lee Hwon tries to escape the palace walls for a little adventure, he encounters Heo Yeon Woo, the intelligent daughter of a nobleman. It's love at first sight for him, but Lee Hwon is also set to marry another nobleman's daughter, Bo Kyung. Little does Hwon realize, but Yang Myung is also falling for Yeon Woo.
Produced by Pan Entertainment and Broadcast by MBC.
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