Aureole Round the Moon


There are no safety issues with viewing the aureole round the moon, although an exposure of several seconds may be necessary to record it clearly.

Aureole round the moon

Sometimes called the 'small halo round the moon' it is caused by the diffraction of light round cloud droplets. The apparent diameter depends on the size of the cloud droplets - smaller droplets mean a larger diameter ring.

Aureole round the moon with blue core

Jupiter is the bright 'star' to the upper right of the full moon. The bluish core and brown outer ring are clearly visible. The cloud has only moved slightly in this 2 second exposure


Fuji Finepix S5000   March 2004
Wiltshire, England

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