why is there a big circle around the moon? and got the best answer

Answer from Yika[guru]
Ring around the Moon
Have you ever seen a large ghostly white ring around the Moon at night?
Circles around the Moon can be confusing at first. We know that in reality there are no rings around the Moon, rotating in outer space at a distance of about 402,250 km from the Earth. But why then do we see a ring around the Moon? And why does it appear occasionally, and not every night?
These rings are just an optical effect, a gift from our atmosphere. If you look closely, you will see that the ring is not actually white. It looks more like a dim, round rainbow with a light red interior and a pale blue exterior.
The ring around the Moon, also known as a halo, appears when light is refracted by ice crystals in high, cold cirrus clouds. Each hexagonal ice crystal acts like a tiny prism. Ice crystals catch the rays white light and refract it, decomposing it into all the colors of the spectrum.
We see refracted moonlight in the shape of a circle because the crystals collect the light into a cone. (You are the observer and are at the apex of this cone.) If you extend both arms forward, the width of the ring will usually be the size of two of your fists. In general, it depends on the amount of light captured by the crystals. Most of the moonlight is captured and refracted at an angle of 22°, forming a small cone. But there are also larger halos, with an angle of 46°, although not so often. These halos form when moonlight passes through the sharper edges of the crystals.
They say that a halo around the Moon foretells rain, and this is often true, since it only appears on a cloudy night.
And what’s surprising is that this companion could also have a twin brother at the same time.
Here's how scientists think it could have happened. In the destructive race that then unfolded in our Universe, rock fragments circled around the newborn Sun, causing numerous terrible collisions. New planets flew into each other, pieces broke off from some astronomical bodies. This chaos continued for millions of years. And when everything finally calmed down, a solar system. Now nine planets, more than 50 satellites and thousands of asteroids, meteorites, meteorites and comets fly in orbit around the Sun.
Our Moon may have had a dramatic, violent birth. The young Earth was very hot - so hot that molten rocks flowed like rivers of lava across its surface. Scientists believe that a small protoplanet, Theia (about the size of Mars), has formed near the surface of the Earth. And naturally, these two planets eventually collided.
At a speed of about 40,000 km/h, the smaller planet crashed into the Earth. As a result of a gigantic explosion, streams of hot liquid lava shot up into space.
Some of this volcanic material returned to Earth, mixed with molten rocks. But most of the escaped material remained in space, forming a lump of hot rocks that flew in orbit around the Earth. Over thousands of years, this lump cooled and rounded, turning into the white-gray Moon that is familiar to us.
Later, when using computer program The collision was simulated, scientists came to a stunning discovery. In 9 of the 27 simulated scenarios, two satellites formed. One of them, preserved, we call today the Moon; the second satellite had an orbit even closer to the Earth.
Computer models showed how, as a result of the forces of gravity, the orbit of the satellite closest to us became unstable. Less than 100 years later, he fell to the surface of the Earth and disappeared without a trace.
If the theories are true, then we may be walking in pieces every day ex-brother our satellite the Moon.

Answer from ANTOM[guru]
Superimposed solar rays falling on the surface of the Moon and rays of sunlight reflected from the surface of the Earth's satellite.

Answer from Evgeny gasnikov[guru]
A halo (large circle) around the Moon means a change in weather (cold weather).

Seeing a rainbow, most of us smile and remember our childhood when it a natural phenomenon was seen for the first time.

There are many signs associated with the rainbow, but the multi-colored arc closing around the sun looks especially unusual and mystical. In science, this phenomenon is called a halo.

There are many types of halos, but all are caused by ice crystals in cirrus clouds. The appearance of the halo depends on their shape and location. The light that is reflected and refracted by ice crystals is often decomposed into a spectrum, which causes the halo to resemble a rainbow. The halo that forms around the moon has no color, because it is simply impossible to distinguish it at dusk. This phenomenon is recorded in any weather, and in cold weather the crystals are located very close to the surface of the earth and resemble shining gems, the so-called diamond dust.

The lower part of the halo can be seen against the background of the surrounding landscape if the main luminary is located low above the horizon. However, halos are not the same as crowns. The latest natural phenomenon is associated with the formation of light, foggy rings in the sky around the Sun or Moon.

What does a rainbow around the sun mean?

Those lucky enough to see this rare phenomenon should expect all the best - prosperity, prosperity, luck and love.

If before this there was not the easiest period in life, then it will definitely end and everything will work out in the best possible way. If there are such signs associated with a circular rainbow around the sun:

• if crowns appeared before the halo, then you should expect worsening weather and vice versa;
• If in winter white crowns of large diameter appear around the sun along with pillars near the luminary, the so-called false suns, then frosty weather will continue.

There are a lot of historical facts related to the halo, when this natural phenomenon helped those who saw it in some matters or, on the contrary, was interpreted as a bad sign.

In particular, the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” says that the army was finally defeated when four Suns appeared in the sky. Ivan the Terrible regarded the natural phenomenon he saw as an omen of imminent death.

There are a lot of signs about halo

This belief is quite interesting: a pregnant woman who takes a sip of water from the river where the rainbow originates can make a wish for the gender of her child. True, this applies only to those women who already have three daughters or three sons.

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• Croton (or in other words codiaum) is an evergreen, perennial ornamental plant from the Euphorbiaceae family. Not only unique beauty possesses the croton flower, signs indicate its unique abilities and influence on......

Refraction sun rays in the atmosphere gives rise to many optical illusions that can be observed from Earth with the naked eye. One of the most spectacular phenomena of this kind is the solar halo. This phenomenon has many varieties, each of which is beautiful in its own way. But for any type of optical illusion to occur, a certain set of conditions is necessary.

So, what is a solar halo and why does it appear? First, let's answer the first question. Essentially, a halo is a rainbow around the sun. However, it differs from an ordinary rainbow in both appearance, and according to its characteristics.

A halo appears in the sky due to a combination of several factors. Most often it is observed in frosty weather in conditions of high humidity. In the air there is a large number of ice crystals. Passing through them, sunlight is refracted in a special way, forming an arc around the Sun.

Do not confuse haloes with “solar crowns”. The latter are areas of hazy glow located around the Sun, Moon or other bright sources of light - for example, street lamps and floodlights.

Despite some external similarities with a rainbow, the solar halo has a number of differences from it. The first of them is that a rainbow is usually observed while standing with your back to the luminary. And haloes only appear around the Sun, with the exception of a few extremely rare varieties.

In a rainbow, you can most often observe the entire spectrum of colors, from red to purple. The solar halo is usually colored only in red and orange tones. The remaining colors of the spectrum mix with each other and therefore appear white. However, it is very rare to observe a halo in which all the colors of the spectrum are distinguished. This is a very spectacular sight.

For a rainbow, the red spectrum is located on the outer side (farthest from the horizon). In a halo, it is as close as possible to the center, that is, to the Sun.

The main difference between a rainbow and a halo is that we see a rainbow as a result of the refraction of light in drops of water. These droplets always look and behave the same in the atmosphere; only their sizes can differ. A completely different matter is the ice crystals in which the light of the Sun is refracted during the observation of the halo. They can have the most different shapes and size. And crystals can move in completely different ways - soar calmly, fall down, rotate, etc. The result of this is the variety of types of solar halo.

Varieties of solar halo

So, we have learned what a solar halo is and what are the reasons for its appearance. Now let's look at its main types.

The solar halo varies in its location in the sky relative to the Sun. Most often, you can observe halos located close to the star - the so-called 22-degree halos. Less common are halos located at an angle of 46 degrees or more relative to the Sun, and the rarest are its varieties that occupy the entire sky.

Based on their color, halos are divided into white (light, colorless), red-orange and full spectrum. The most common 22 degree halos are usually only colored red, orange and white. Halos can be located not only in the vertical, but also in the horizontal plane. They are called subhalos.

People's attitude towards halo

In the past, this phenomenon created fear and panic among people. Due to the insufficient development of science, people did not know that their eyes were seeing an optical illusion, and considered the halo an unkind sign, especially if it was accompanied by parhelia (light spots that look like the Sun and are located next to it). Sometimes the appearance of a halo became the reason for making important political decisions. One of the most striking examples is the refusal of Emperor Charles V to siege Magdeburg in 1551. Seeing a halo with a false sun over the city, he considered it a symbol of heavenly protection for the besieged.

How to look at a solar halo correctly

A halo is an unusual optical phenomenon that always attracts people's attention. But in order to enjoy its beauty without unpleasant consequences, you need not only to know what a solar halo is, but also to understand the danger it poses to the organs of vision. Sunlight refracted through ice crystals is too bright for our eyes. Therefore, it is best to watch the halo with sunglasses. It makes more sense to use high-quality glasses with high level UV protection. Looking at the halo, it is best to cover the sun with some object or, for example, a palm. The same should be done when photographing this phenomenon. Otherwise, the image may not be clear enough.

Observation of a halo can serve as a local weather indicator. Halos are always observed in cirrostratus clouds, which are usually part of a cloud system warm front. Therefore, the appearance of a halo indicates the approach of a warm front.

• What weather changes should we expect due to the passage of a warm front? First of all, the decrease and thickening of clouds and the fall of precipitation: rain, snow or sleet, depending on the time of year.
  • In summer, in established sunny weather, the passage of a warm front, accompanied by low clouds and rain, is usually perceived as worsening weather.
  • in winter, in established frosty weather, the appearance of a halo portends decrease in frost, warming due to the decrease and thickening of clouds and the transition to precipitation.
• Due to the fact that the crowns are formed on smaller cloud elements (drops or crystals) than the halo, the following conclusions can be drawn.
  • If crowns were observed at first, then they disappeared and after some time a halo appeared, then this indicates the enlargement of cloud crystals and increasing the likelihood of precipitation.
  • On the contrary, if crowns appear after the halo, it means that the elements of the cloud are evaporating and decreasing in size. Hence, the likelihood of precipitation decreases.

Source: book by Zverev S.V. In the world of sunlight.

The content of the folk signs presented below may not coincide with the opinion of the author.

Folk signs

• A halo is visible around the Sun or Moon - a sign of worsening weather.
• A ring around the Moon means wind (worsening weather).
• If the crowns appear earlier and then are replaced by a halo, then the weather may worsen.
• If the halo precedes the crowns, then this can be considered a sign of improving weather.
• If in winter white crowns of large diameter appear around the sun or moon, as well as pillars near the sun, or so-called false suns, then this is a sign of continued frosty weather.
• IN American state New Hampshire has an interesting weather sign.
  If locals look at the sky at night and see a halo - a circle around the moon - they know a storm is coming soon. How many stars can be counted inside the halo - after so many days the storm will begin.
  Sources: A. Leokum. The Curious Book. New American Library, NY, 1978, p.17

"Myths", erroneous assumptions about haloes, incorrect names

• call diamond dust a halo. Confusion of concepts
• With light pillars and halos are different phenomena. Light pillar is one of the types of halo
• fire rainbow- name of the near-horizontal arc
• winter rainbow is the name of the halo. It is believed that the halo is visible only in winter :). Just look at this site to be convinced of the opposite
• Quote: “as the Republican Hydrometeorological Center (Moldova) assured, halo rings are safe for humans.”
• Crosses in the sky
  • At the intersection of the parhelic circle (its fragments on the sides of the sun) with a halo with a radius of 22 or 46°, crosses are formed
  • The cross, in the center of which is the sun, appears when the pillars of light intersect with the parhelic circle.
  • When crossing light pillars above/below the sun with 22 halo

Superstitions, historical facts related to halo, famous observations

Various halo phenomena have been observed in the sky for several thousand years. Arcs and pillars of light were called fiery swords of angels, bloody swords, crosses (the intersection of parhelium and small halo, pillar of light and top part small halo). In various archives you can find a lot of evidence of halo observations. I tried to collect the most interesting observations on this page.

A Word about Igor's Regiment

As soon as Prince Igor set out with his army on May 1, 1185, it happened solar eclipse. “Then Igor looked at the bright sun and saw that it covered him with the darkness of the soldiers.” But the proud princes did not turn their horses. The first battle with the Polovtsians was victorious. And then they fought for another three days. The outnumbered Cumans began to overpower the Russians. And then four suns appeared in the sky. “Black clouds are coming from the sea, they want to cover four suns ... There will be great thunder...” The spirit of the soldiers fell, the Russian army was all killed, and Igor was captured.

Ivan groznyj

The story of how Grand Duke the Muscovite perceived what he saw in the sky: “... With a trembling hand, Tsar Ivan pulled back the curtain. He looked up at the sky with frightened eyes. His face was distorted with horror: in the sky, in the dark heights, he froze cruciform heavenly sign ...
Leaning on his staff, the king went out onto the Red Porch to observe the wondrous vision that the queen had just told him about.
For a long time he silently looked at the sky, dotted with a dense scattering of stars, and at this mysterious cross, vaguely visible in the heavenly depths, and suddenly, staggering from weakness... whispered:
- This is the sign of my death. Here it is..."

Napoleon

After the fall of Napoleon in France, they watched as bright spot , which reminded many of the emperor’s triangular hat. And people regarded this as a sign of his return from exile, from the island of St. Helena.

Lowitz

The St. Petersburg scientist T. Lovitz had a chance to see and describe an interesting and funny halo (one of the types of halo was later named after him).
In one of summer days In 1790, he sketched the picture that opened before him:
two rainbow circles shone around the sun - one larger, the other smaller;
bright semi-arcs, similar to wide horns, adjoined them above and below.
The sun and rainbow circles crossed white stripe, parallel to the horizon, encircling the sky. At the intersection of this stripe with a small rainbow circle, two false suns shone; their sides facing the sun were red, and from the opposite sides stretched long luminous tails. Three similar spots were visible against the sun - on the white stripe. The sixth, very bright, spot glittered on a small rainbow circle above the sun. All this remained in the sky for about five hours.

Halo from the ancient Russian chronicle

“That same summer there was a sign in the Sun. Protect yourself from the sun like circles,” the Russian chronicle reported in 1224.
A miniature was also included with the entry. And the chronicler monk, it seems, himself witnessed the phenomenon. The drawing clearly shows the sun with “circles” and four crosses around it.
Note that images of this kind are counted in chronicles different countries in dozens. if not hundreds.

“In 7293 (that is, in 1785) a sign appeared in the famous city of Yaroslavl, from the morning hours there was a middle circle until noon with three suns, and with them at noon the second circle appeared, In it there was a cross with a crown, and the sun was gloomy and under appeared in a large circle like a rainbow..."

Based on the description and picture, it can be assumed that the author observed a small halo with parhelia, then the upper and lower tangent arcs (crown) or Parry arcs appeared, light pillars that often look like crosshairs.

Six-winged seraph

Seraphim, from Hebrew - burning, luminous, flaming. In other meanings - burning, fiery. In the mythology of Judaism and Christianity, the name “seraphim” designated angels especially close to God. Probably their first and only description, from which numerous imitations came, are contained in the Book Old Testament Prophet Isaiah:

“...each of them has six wings. Each covered his face with two. He covered his legs with two. Two - I flew..."

One of the seraphim cleanses the prophet's lips by touching them with a burning coal, which he takes with tongs from the altar. The geometry of the seraphim figure, depicted, for example, by Theophanes the Greek, is quite peculiar, but upon deep examination, it turns out to be similar to a complex halo, taken in its upper quarter (a light column, a small halo, an upper tangent arc, a large halo and a zenith arc).

The picture shows a fragment of a fresco by Theophan the Greek, 1378, Novgorod, Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyin.

Physics of the phenomenon

Halos usually appear around the Sun or Moon, sometimes around other powerful lights such as street lights. There are many types of halos, but they are mainly caused by ice crystals in cirrus clouds at an altitude of 5-10 km in upper layers troposphere. The type of halo observed depends on the shape and arrangement of the crystals. The light reflected and refracted by ice crystals is often decomposed into a spectrum, which makes the halo look like a rainbow, however, the halo in low light conditions has low color, which is associated with the characteristics of twilight vision.

Refraction of light on ice crystals

Sometimes in frosty weather a halo is formed by crystals very close to earth's surface. In this case, the crystals resemble shining gemstones.

Observation and photography techniques

Since the halo is very bright (we can say that the halo is a reflection of the sun), any camera will capture it at any settings, but because of this brightness, poorly captured details are obtained: if the sun itself gets into the frame, the halo will look dim, colors will disappear.

solar pillar

Light, or solar, pillar is a vertical stripe of light extending from the sun during sunset or sunrise. The phenomenon is caused by hexagonal flat or columnar ice crystals. Flat crystals suspended in the air cause solar pillars if the sun is at a height of 6° above the horizon or behind it, columnar crystals - if the sun is at a height of 20° above the horizon. Crystals tend to take a horizontal position when falling in the air, and the appearance of the light column depends on their relative position.

see also

Notes

Literature

• Zvereva S. V. In a world of sunshine. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1988. - 160 p.

• M. Minnart.“Light and Color in Nature” is a fairly old book, a dozen are described various types haloes, including 46 degree parhelia, which are now considered impossible.
• Frederick K. Lutgens, Edward J. Tarbuck, Dennis Tasa The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology. - 11. - Prentice Hall, 2009. - 508 p. - ISBN 0321587332

• Alf Nyberg Himlasken och andra ljusfenomen. - Ingenjörsförlaget, 1985. - 133 p. - ISBN 9172841923

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Halo" is in other dictionaries:

Halogen... Russian word stress

halo- uncl., cf. halo m. In astronomy, rainbow or white circles, spots, etc. around the Sun, Moon, resulting from the refraction or reflection of light by ice crystals upper layers atmosphere. BAS 2. The upper layers of the atmosphere were covered... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Rainbow rings appearing around the sun and moon. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. HALO rainbow rings that appear from time to time around the sun and moon. Dictionary of foreign words included in... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Unchanged; Wed [from Greek halōs circle, disk]. Astron. Rainbow or white circles, spots, etc. around the disks of the Sun and Moon, resulting from the refraction and reflection of light by ice crystals suspended in the air. * * * halo (from Greek hálōs … … encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Halos) light or iridescent circles of large diameter around the sun and moon, separated from the luminary by a dark gap; are often observed in cases where the sun and moon are visible through light cirrus clouds or through a veil of fog, ... ... Marine Dictionary

Halo... (gr. hals (halos) salt) first component difficult words, corresponding in meaning to the word salt, for example. halophytes. New dictionary of foreign words. by EdwART, 2009. halo... [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Halo- in Antarctica. HALO, light circles, arcs, pillars, spots observed from the Earth around or near the disks of the Sun and Moon. Caused by the refraction and reflection of light by ice crystals suspended in the air. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Wed. bent, a projectile for bending arches, rims and runners: a circle is cut out in solid beams or killed by a furrow; the block, steamed in a steam oven, or underground, on which a large fire is laid out, is placed in the halo and jammed. Dictionary… … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

halo- A ring of light around the Sun or Moon, resulting from the refraction and reflection of light in ice crystals; haloes include colored circles, arcs, pillars, spots, etc. → Fig. 144... Dictionary of Geography

HALO, light circles, arcs, pillars, spots observed from the Earth around or near the disks of the Sun and Moon. Caused by the refraction and reflection of light by ice crystals suspended in the air... Modern encyclopedia

- (from the Greek halos circle disk), light circles, arcs, pillars, spots observed around or near the disks of the Sun and Moon. Caused by the refraction and reflection of light by ice crystals suspended in the air... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Instructions for first aid in case of accidents at work, Bubnov Valery Georgievich, Bubnova Natalya Valentinovna. The instructions were developed in accordance with the State General Education Standard Russian Federation and the Atlas of Voluntary Rescuers, recommended by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for mass...