R-Eventide on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/r-eventide/art/Multiple-Moon-Halos-78266548R-Eventide

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Multiple Moon Halos

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Description

I was just wandering back to my apartment, and I looked up at the moon...and saw this. Well, a much better version, actually, but by the time I realized what I was looking at, ran up to my apartment, scattered the stuff I was carrying, frantically searched for and grabbed my camera/tripod, and had everything set up, the halos were fading.

To the right is the familiar parhelia (more widely known as sundogs), though they're called paraselenae/parselenae when created by the moon instead of the sun, with a tiny bit of a 22-degree halo and a parselenic circle (don't know if that's the right term--it's the moon version of a parhelic circle). But above the trees can be seen an upper tangent arc, which I haven't even seen the sun do, let alone the moon.

It was an amazing sight. (I'm sure my fellow apartment-dwellers think I'm crazy.) It sure got my heart racing. I know 22-degree moon halos and parselenae can happen somewhat frequently, but I don't know about upper tangent arcs. The atmospheric optics site I frequent doesn't say anything about them.

Don't see what I'm talking about? Try this image: 1) 22-degree halo, 2) parselene, 3) parselenic circle, 4) upper tangent arc.

Have no idea what I'm babbling about at all? Check out Atmospheric Optics.
Image size
700x545px 85.83 KB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon PowerShot A640
Shutter Speed
150/10 second
Aperture
F/2.8
Focal Length
7 mm
Date Taken
Feb 23, 2008, 10:25:34 PM
© 2008 - 2024 R-Eventide
Comments22
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WhyIsMyKittyAButt's avatar
Omg! That's what these things are? Glad you are very descriptive about them! I saw one that looked like a "double halo" around the moon last year about this time appx maybe late summer do you know what that was? I wish I had my camera with me but I was in the car. It was amazing to look at!