Moon Halo

[PhotoGav]

I let the dog out in the garden before bedtime last night only to be confronted by the most stunning Moon Halo. I couldn't resist getting my camera...

 

I then wondered, what is going on here? Good old Wikipedia has the following to say about it:

"A 22° halo is an optical phenomenon that belongs to the family of ice crystal halos, in the form of a ring with a radius of approximately 22° around the Sun or Moon. When visible around the moon, it is called a moon ring or winter halo. It forms as the sun- or moonlight is refracted in millions of hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere.^[1] The halo is large; the radius is roughly the size of an outstretched hand at arm's length.^[2] A 22° halo may be visible on as many as 100 days per year—much more frequently than rainbows.^[3]"

So now I know, ish!

[don4l]

Nice photo!

We had this here last month for three nights.  I tried to get a photo, but I need to read the camera's manual!