Friday, December 25, 2015

Full Cold Moon

The Christmas 2015 Full Cold Moon
The last time we had a full moon on Christmas was 1977!!  And, tonight's full moon has a lunar halo.  I just took this photo at midnight and was thrilled to see the lunar halo.  I've not seen one ever before.

A lunar halo is caused by the refraction, reflection, and dispersion of light through ice particles suspended within thin, wispy, high altitude  cirrus or cirrostratus clouds.  The phenomenon of a lunar halo is similar to a rainbow produced by sunlight and rain falling between your eye and the sun.
Weather lore says a lunar halo is the precursor of impending unsettled weather, especially during the winter months.  This is often proved true, as cirrus and cirrostratus clouds generally precede rain and storm systems.

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