Posted on 12/11/2014 7:16:15 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: In this night scene from the early hours of November 14, light from a last quarter Moon illuminates clouds above the mountaintop domes of Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. Bright Jupiter is just left of the overexposed lunar disk with a streak of camera lens flare immediately to the right, but that's no fireball meteor exploding near the center of the picture. Instead, from the roadside perspective a stunningly bright moondog or paraselene stands directly over Kitt Peaks's WIYN telescope. Analogous to a sundog or parhelion, a paraselene is produced by moonlight refracted through thin, hexagonal, plate-shaped ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. As determined by the crystal geometry, paraselenae (plural) are seen at an angle of 22 degrees or more from the Moon. Compared to the bright lunar disk they are more often faint and easier to spot when the Moon is low. About 10 minutes after the photograph even this bright moondog had faded from the night.
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[Credit & Copyright: Martin Ratcliffe]
Lovely!
Oh....wait....that's Three Dog Night.
We had a moondog night here in Iowa a few nights ago. Took the kids outside and showed them, as they’re fairly rare. Then they looked up the scientific explanation for why it happens. A guess they call that a teachable moment. :-)
I have seen this phenomena a few times. Usually, you see it on the opposite side too.
You see “sun dogs” all the time. Very fun.
Reminds me of another phenomena re. the sun.
Have you ever hear of “green fire” or “green flash” at sunset?
During one 2-week long sunset, my friends and I searched for it with diligence - but I never saw it. Some of the other “winter-overs” said they did, but I think it was fatigue or chemicals.
Sigh... Beauty is fleeting, not only for paraselene, but also for humans.
Martin Ratcliffe certainly waited, observed, and exposed that picture just right.
Thank you, Mr. Civ.
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