Posted on 11/20/2012 3:27:14 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Have you ever seen a halo around the Moon? This fairly common sight occurs when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. Each ice crystal acts like a miniature lens. Because most of the crystals have a similar elongated hexagonal shape, light entering one crystal face and exiting through the opposing face refracts 22 degrees, which corresponds to the radius of the Moon Halo. A similar Sun Halo may be visible during the day. The setting of the above picture is Athens San Sebastian, Greece. The distant planet Jupiter appears by chance on the halo's left. Exactly how ice-crystals form in clouds remains under investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Copyright: Anthony Ayiomamitis (TWAN)]
Wow, I thought Michigan skies were gloomy...
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Wow, I thought Michigan skies were gloomy...
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The old folk wisdom, superstition or what have you here is that the number of stars within the halo are the number of days until snow. We’re far enough south that snow is an event, but far enough north that it happens frequently enough to be concerned about the possibility, so there are a fair number of “signs” like that.
If the smoke from the chimney is falling, the birds have gone to ground feeding like crazy and there’s a tight halo around the moon, better bring in some firewood, lol.
That is a cool picture.
If there’s a halo around the moon here, it snows.
Personally, I dread seeing them.
I hate snow.
If smoke is falling, it means precipitation of some sort.
I hate winter.
Thanks for the efforts. Anytime I see your NASA posts as with most of your stuff I always open em but don’t ping .
More often than not, cold enough for frozen precip is too dry for it. Low humidity. We’re in a “rain shadow” of sorts from the Blue Ridge and don’t get storms from inland, it gets all snowed out on the west facing slopes before it ever gets here.
Now, a Gulf low coming up from Atlanta will do it. For the once in a decade foot deep snows, it’s going to be a nor’easter. “White hurricane” lol. We get those. Mercifully rare though.
We’re approaching rain forest status, here.
Actually, Green Ridge mountain just west of me *is* designated a rain forest.
The weather’s gone berserk in the last 10 or so years.
*Most* of the heavy snow stays out in Garrett and Allegany counties.
Used to be we’d be riding by late March clear into early November but now the rains start in February and don’t let up until early June.
Our mountains look like The Smokies, now.
If we’re lucky, we get to ride mid-June-August.
This ‘global warming’ stuff sucks.
We get around 50 inches of rain a year, but the vast majority of it does not occur in freezing weather. Winter weather here is dry more often than not.
A halo Around Uranus
Ugh.
http://coolweather.net/staterainfall/maryland.htm
[one link offered me the time needed to get from MD to AZ....they must be reading my mind]
;D
I’ve seen a halo around a moon only a few times in my life.. spectacular and ominous looking IMHO. And yes... it snowed like crazy those few times. Thanks, Sunky!
I like my weather and my seasons, just don’t want too much of any one thing, lol. One decent snowfall a year will do, no more. That’s usually what happens as far as snow. We get more ice storms than snow, though. Those I can do entirely without. Summer is the bear here, heat and humidity, June through September usually.
Fianlly a halo around something other than Obama.
Great pic, though.
When I was a kid, I remember my grandmother mentioning all of those at one time or another. I actually think there's some truth to the thing about the birds feeding. Every time Snow was in the forecast, the little birds would be going crazy getting food. I've seen many 'halos' around the Moon. Never have paid enough attention to notice a correlation between their presence and Snow.
You basically just described the weather pattern(s) where I live. I’m pretty certain we’re from the same area/region, but I’m across the border in VA.
When we DO get those “White hurricanes” you mentioned, we usually have enough Snow to where I’m sick of seeing it by the time it melts away. During the 90s we had two or three of those.
Snow in Greece soon! I’m sure the anti-austerity protestors will enjoy it.
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