On 7 July 2009, the moon was full and the sky was clear. The moon had a seriously big ring around it, way bigger than what I’ve seen before.
Full Moon Halo
Google revealed the following (and some awesome photos!).
A halo; also known as a nimbus, icebow or Gloriole) is an optical phenomenon that appears near or around the Sun or Moon, and sometimes near other strong light sources such as street lights. There are many types of optical halos, but they are mostly caused by ice crystals in cold cirrus clouds located high (5–10 km, or 3–6 miles) in the upper troposphere. The particular shape and orientation of the crystals is responsible for the type of halo observed. Light is reflected and refracted by the ice crystals and may split up into colors because of dispersion, similarly to the rainbow. Source: wiki
Aphelion, the True Midwinter’s Day, is always in the first week in July. This is the day when the Sun is furthest from Earth for the year. Cooler temperatures come to NZ around Aphelion Day and it is the why the first week in July is cold enough for ski-fields to open the season. Source.
Our neighbours peeked out of their kitchen window to see me standing in the middle of our driveway just after 9pm with a camera & tripod in the one hand and the telephone in the other hand, staring at the moon. I guess we’re in for some colder weather then, but at least the ski-fields opened up. I can’t wait for mid-August to go skiing again.
