Weird Moon Shot - any amateur astronomers out there?

[Amy]

When we were walking our dog tonight, DS17 happened to look up at the moon and saw this circle around the moon. So of course I had to try to take a photo of it. This is by no means a "good" shot; the max. shutter I could get on my Canon S3 IS was 15 sec. I took it only to show the circle, not trying for a good moon shot. My camera doesn't have a wide-enough angle lens, so this is only showing 1/2 of the circle - it was actually a perfect circle all around the moon. Any idea what caused this? DH said it might be some kind of "rainbow" around the moon. Anybody know?

 

[AndrewWG]

Amy,

I have no idea what it is, but I do know that rainbowas are actually circles and not half circles. i just read this the other day somewhere. All we see is the half circle or less because it runs into the gound and stops, but I read that if you see a rainbow from a plane, it can be in a full circle. So all that being said, I have no idea what this is, but maybe it is a rainbow effect with moisture in the air?

Edit: Check out this page: http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonring/

 

[Amy]

Thanks so much, Andy! I figured somebody here on the DIS would have an answer for me! (Either that, or some of you have waaaay too much time on your hands and have time to Google all this stuff ).

That link was very interesting....it said that according to folklore, moon rings signify that bad weather is coming. We'll see if it's right or not!

 

[AndrewWG]

No problem Amy! I didn't know much about them until i had reason to Google them tonight. I have seen that effect a couple times in my life. Never have I had the camera with me of course. Kudos to you for carrying yours with you!

 

[mabas9395]

You better be careful. With this crowd, when you start talking about "moon shots", you never know what you are going to get.

 

[LMarge]

[..it said that according to folklore, moon rings signify that bad weather is coming. We'll see if it's right or not!
[/QUOTE]

My grandfather used to say this all the time. We'd be out in the evening when I was younger and he'd always check the moon. It could be totally clear and there would be a ring around the moon - he'd always comment on bad weather being on it's way! Then he'd count the stars for how long it would last! It's funny, I catch myself doing it every now and then!!

 

[gokenin]

from what I understand it is caused by ice particle in the high altitudes and the light reflects agasint them and forms that rainbow or circle. It also is an indication of wet weather coming

 

[ukcatfan]

We get them pretty often down here in FL. I had only seen ~2-3 in the nearly 30 yrs in KY. I have not tried to get a picture. It is similar to a rainbow and is caused by moisture in the air. I have never seen any link to bad weather coming. It is common to have moisture in the air here though. My house is only about five miles from the gulf. In fact, hurricane Charley's eye came within seven miles of my house.

Kevin

 

[DVC Jen]

I got kinda the same thing last spring. You have to look kinda closely - they aren't as noticable as yours.

 

[deletedpenguin]

From what I understand it's moisture, or more directly, ice crystals in the upper atmosphere refracting the moonlight. The folklore of "bad weather coming" is usually true because of the movement of the moisture into an otherwise dry lower atmosphere (ie. no low cloud cover). It doesn't guarantee rain, but there could be a change in the next few days.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

As previous posters have said, this is a result of ice crystals that are present in Cirrus clouds. Cirrus clouds are often associated with warm fronts / low pressure systems and therefore are used as a prediction tool for an approaching storm (1 - 3 days out). They also form locally, and may not be associated with an approaching storm.

 

[JR6ooo4]

From everything I have read in this thread it appears that they are caused by moisture. Some say they predict foul weather coming.

One person even said to count the stars to see how long it will last.

I get all my info from the DIS. Heheheheheee

Mikeeee

Oh, and they are a full circle.

 

[LMarge]

DVC Jen,
how do you get your night sky so blue? It's really lovely! Mine always come out black!

 

[handicap18]

From everything I have read in this thread it appears that they are caused by moisture. Some say they predict foul weather coming.

One person even said to count the stars to see how long it will last.

I get all my info from the DIS. Heheheheheee

Mikeeee

Oh, and they are a full circle.

Wow Mike. Thats such a coincidence. I came away with the same info. These people on the Dis are awesome.

Seriously, cool topic. I don't recall noticing the ring around the moon in the past.

 

[DVC Jen]

DVC Jen,
how do you get your night sky so blue? It's really lovely! Mine always come out black!

I think all i did was increase saturation. other than that I don't remember.

It was just one of those nights, ya know? I was already in my PJs and the hubster comes in all excited wanting me to get a shot of the moon. so i quickly dressed and off I went.

 

[jann1033]

I think all i did was increase saturation. other than that I don't remember.

It was just one of those nights, ya know? I was already in my PJs and the hubster comes in all excited wanting me to get a shot of the moon. so i quickly dressed and off I went.

see, Jen agrees it's moisture as well (although not sure how she managed to do that all the way up there ( ) which was what i thought and now have it confirmed by one and all... now if this was the community board i might be asking for references to be posted

 

[Amy]

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge (and your humor!). I have never seen anything like this my entire life - looked kind of freaky to me, but at least now I know it's not aliens lining up in formation to take over the world! (Or could it be those Alien Bees??)

No problem Amy! I didn't know much about them until i had reason to Google them tonight. I have seen that effect a couple times in my life. Never have I had the camera with me of course. Kudos to you for carrying yours with you!

And I didn't carry my camera with me - we were just about home from our walk when DS17 noticed the ring, so once we got home I got out my camera. I've only taken my camera once when walking the dog, and that was last fall when the leaves were really pretty. It's tough enough to be all bundled up for the cold, handle a 65-lb dog and a flashlight and picking up doggie deposits - I'm not going to cart along my camera, too!

 

[DVC Jen]

Amy when the hubster and i were in the hottub last night I noticed the same kind of ring around the moon as you had in your photo and immediately thought about you. It was a HUGE rink - very coold. but I have to say - looks nothing like an alien bee.