Weird Moon Occurence

I pride myself on knowing a thing or two about Astronomy, but this one has me baffled. I caught this outside just now, it's really pretty awesome.

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My guess would be some atmospheric occurence, like vapor or ice crystals, in the air, rather than some funky cloud that moves with the moon. Any definite answers would be greatly appreciated. I'm in upstate New York, and the ring had a radius of about 15-20 degrees of the entire sky.

[edit on 11/14/2005 by Amorymeltzer]

is that the moon or a bright light in the sky that near the moon...bright as the moon tho...and not a star? niburu?

what you are seeing is ice crystals in the upper atmosphere forming a refractory ring. This only happens when the ice crystals are at a certain altitude, and this altitude is very high as far as clouds go. Most clouds are ice above 20,000 feet (7000 meters)

[edit on 14-11-2005 by sexymon]

Yup, you nailed that one on the head!

Nice pic. Google image has a couple.

Folklore has it that a ring around the moon signifies bad weather is coming, and in many cases this may be true. So how can rings around the moon be a predictor of weather to come? The ice crystals that cover the halo signify high altitude, thin cirrus clouds that normally precede a warm front by one or two days. Typically, a warm front will be associated with a low pressure system which is commonly referred to as a storm.

It is believed that the number of stars within a moon halo indicate the number days before bad weather will arrive. Give it a try the next time you observe a moon halo.

Yep you guys got it. Its is quite common actually.

"It is believed that the number of stars within a moon halo indicate the number days before bad weather will arrive. Give it a try the next time you observe a moon halo."

^^ technically the number of starts inside the halo can be billions haha. Do you mean stars visible to the naked eye??

Hey I'm in southern Ontario Canada and I noticed the same thing last night. no pics though... I think that it's a high level thin fog/ice, it was pretty cool.
weather channel says were in for 15+ days of light to heavy rain....

[edit on 15-11-2005 by Halfofone]

Woah, cool pics.
Definitely some good replies, too!

But, why is the moon weirdly shaped in some of the pics? Did the camera move as it was taking the pic?


[edit on 17-11-2005 by xeroxed88]

Have to say that they are just moon dogs.
Grew up in northern new england and I am very used to seeing them. Here is a link that matches the pix's exactly. The sight also give a decent explaination of what moon dogs are
Moon Dogs

Here in Britain we've had a full moon for quite some time now, about a week or so. Is this usually common? Because I thought a moon phase never lsated too long. Or is it to do with it being winter? The northern hemisphere being closer to the moon or something?

this phenomena is called a 'corona', and can occur around the sun or moon. it is caused by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere refracting the light, and has been traditionally used to predict the upcoming weather - if the corona starts large and shrinks, you're in for a rough ride. if it starts small and gets bigger, clear sailing is ahead.

It definitely is a halo caused by the ice particles in the upper atmosphere. And the trail is the contrail of a jet illuminated by moonlight.

I noticed them last night too.Im in u.k.
There is a partial lunar eclipse tonight so keep a look out.
Not sure on the exact timings but here is a link.

www.eclipse.org.uk...

Hi I have seen the same thing twice. once in queensland australia, and some years after in melbourne. the first was on 8th jan about 1995?
and the second time 5 7 years later. if I remmber it was cold on both those nites. so u maybe right about the ice.
i am trying to look into the strange things that happen on a full moon and what really causes them? is it nature causes that make us go with out animal instincs on full moons, or some thing more controled? and if so by who or what?