Friday, October 18, 2013

Hunter's Moon Plays WIth Moondogs

Hey Space Placers!

A slight shading was visible on the Hunter's Full Moon tonight in Charlottesville, Virginia at about 7:35 p.m. EDT. High cirrus clouds played tag with the brilliant and beautiful Hunter's Full Moon making it a bit difficult to see the eclipse, let alone photograph it.


These same clouds provided another spectacle however, "moondogs". These are patches of rainbow colored clouds that are located in a straight line on either side of the Moon. They are caused by ice crystals in the high altitude cirrus clouds that refract or bend the bright moonlight into these patches of light - see my photo.



If you look closely, you can see a hint of a "Lunar Halo" or ring of moonlight that is also caused by ice crystals in the cirrus clouds.

You can also see "sundogs" when the same cirrus cloud conditions occur during the day.

Read More About It: http://www.universetoday.com/99511/

Sky Guy in VA

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