The skies put on quite a show on Monday!
There was a gorgeous full Beaver Moon and a penumbral lunar eclipse during the early hours of Monday morning and it came with an ethereal halo around it. On top of that, some were lucky enough to see Mars within the glowing hoop. A penumbral lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes through the outer shadow of the Earth which dims it out and gives it a warmer glow. This year’s final one came with a stunning winter halo—also known as a moon ring or a 22-degree halo—which is caused by cold cirrus or cirrostratus clouds form high up in the atmosphere. The frosty clouds contain millions of ice crystals that refract and reflect light. So if you’re viewing it from a certain angle it will appear as a ring around the moon or the sun, according to EarthSky.
Needless to say, the optical phenomenon caused a wave of social media posts. Here are some of the stunning captures from SoCal and other parts of America.
Los Angeles
Yesterday’s moon halo in Los Angeles! Beautiful! pic.twitter.com/M7WV8CpJL6
— Los Angeles Pictures (@LosAngelesPic) October 25, 2015
Halo around the moon tonight #FullMoon #LosAngeles #LunarEclipse pic.twitter.com/bxXwhquRny
— Bobby Appelbaum (@bobbyappelbaum) November 30, 2020
A moon halo from my backyard in Southern California. #moonhalo #LosAngeles #Halo #FullMoon #beautiful pic.twitter.com/4gMxpKNRtq
— Skye (@Skye3411) November 30, 2020
Ok I’m being a dork for this! I went outside in my pajamas to capture a #moonhalo – I have never seen one before.#LosAngeles #Halo #instagood #picoftheday #iphone #beautiful #Moon pic.twitter.com/XZzEaBau5c
— Skye (@Skye3411) November 30, 2020
New York
Moon Halo with Mars in It pic.twitter.com/zirM4kXKxg
— Iris (@Iris82412553) December 1, 2020
Arlington
Reg and wide angle shots of last night’s full moon #halo as seen from Arlington @dougkammerer @capitalweather @StormHour pic.twitter.com/nqcaF2ycqi
— DJ (@dmaltss) November 30, 2020
Montana
Moon rising over Buck Peak with a light fog creating a halo effect #MontanaMoment pic.twitter.com/3nXa5bCKdu
— Leon Kauffman (@LeonKauffman) November 28, 2020
It was visible from other parts of the world too.
Turkey
Last night as lightning was striking Rhodes in the distance the clouds overhead opened up to reveal a stunning Moon halo 🌕⛈️ pic.twitter.com/1MTjwUVGuG
— Alyn Wallace 🌌 (@alynwallace) November 30, 2020
Unknown
Moon Halo with Mars in It pic.twitter.com/zirM4kXKxg
— Iris (@Iris82412553) December 1, 2020
[Featured Image: Iris via Twitter]