What does a large circle around the moon mean? Folk signs for determining the weather by the moon. Superstitions, historical facts related to halo, famous observations

My mother called, who is lying on the beach right now))) And she says, “I see a circle around the sun”))) I went outside, there the cirrus clouds had already covered the sun... I didn’t see...

I just recently read about it from [b])))

(Apparently the weather will worsen...)

Here:

Halo- this is the refraction and reflection of light in the ice crystals of the upper tier clouds; represent light or rainbow circles around the Sun or Moon (an example of a photograph of a lunar halo), separated from the luminary by a dark gap. Halos are often observed in the front part of cyclones (in their cirrostratus clouds). warm front) and therefore can serve as a sign of their approach.

Halo around the Sun in cirrostratus clouds

As a rule, halos appear as circles with a radius of 22 or 46 °, the centers of which coincide with the center of the solar (or lunar) disk. The circles are faintly colored in rainbow colors (red inside).
Halos are the surest sign of worsening weather. So, at the end of March 1988, calm, sunny spring weather settled in Moscow and the Moscow region. But one evening a halo was observed around the Moon; and the very next day the weather suddenly deteriorated.
From the book “Meteorology and Climatology” S.P. Khromov, M.A. Petrosyants: “In addition to the main halo forms, false suns are observed - slightly colored light spots on the same level with the Sun and at an angular distance from it also 22 or 46°. the main circles are sometimes joined by various tangent arcs to them.There are still unpainted vertical pillars passing through the solar disk, i.e., as if continuing it up and down, as well as an unpainted horizontal circle at the same level with the Sun.
Colored halos are explained by the refraction of light in the hexagonal prismatic crystals of ice clouds, uncolored (colorless) forms by the reflection of light from the faces of the crystals. The variety of halo shapes depends mainly on the types and movement of crystals, on the orientation of their axes in space, as well as on the height of the Sun. The 22° halo is caused by the refraction of light by the side faces of the crystals with a random orientation of their main axes in all directions. If the main axes have a predominantly vertical direction, then on both sides of the solar disk (also at a distance of 22°), instead of a light circle, two light spots appear - false suns.
The halo at 46° (and false suns at 46°) is caused by the refraction of light between the side faces and bases of the prisms, i.e. with a refractive angle of 90°.
The horizontal circle is due to the reflection of light from the side faces of vertically located crystals, and the solar column is due to the reflection of light from crystals located primarily horizontally.

In thin water clouds, consisting of small homogeneous drops (usually altocumulus clouds) and covering the disk of the luminary, due to diffraction, apparitions of the crowns. Crowns also appear in fog near artificial light sources. The main, and often the only part of the crown is light circle a small radius, closely surrounding the disk of the luminary (or an artificial light source). The circle is mainly bluish in color and only outer edge- reddish. It is also called a halo. It may be surrounded by one or more additional rings of the same, but lighter color, not adjacent to the circle and to each other. Halo radius 1-5°. It is inversely proportional to the diameters of the droplets in the cloud, so it can be used to determine the size of the droplets in the clouds.
The crowns around small artificial light sources (compared to the disks of luminaries) have richer iridescent colors."

Folk signs associated with halo:
- After the appearance of fast-moving cirrus clouds, the sky is covered with a transparent (veil-like) layer of cirrostratus clouds. They are found in circles around the Sun or Moon (a sign of worsening weather).
- A halo is visible around the Sun or Moon (a sign of worsening weather).
- In winter - white crowns large diameter around the Sun or Moon, as well as pillars near the Sun, or so-called false suns (a sign of continued frosty weather).
- The ring around the Moon is towards the wind (worsening weather).

Let us quote the book by V.A. Mezentsev “Religious superstitions and their harm” (Moscow, 1959). Here is what is written there about the phenomena described above: “For example, what a complex and rare in its shape halo was actually observed in the spring of 1928 in the city of Bely, Smolensk region. At about 8-9 o’clock in the morning on both sides of the Sun - to the right and to the left - there were two bright, rainbow-colored false suns are visible. They had short, slightly curved whitish tails. The real Sun was in the center of the luminous circle. In addition, several luminous arcs were visible in the sky. It was these arcs that were mistaken for curves in past centuries fiery swords hanging in the sky.
And on November 28, 1947, a complex halo around the Moon was observed in the city of Poltava. The moon was in the center of the light circle. New moons, or, as they are often called, paraselenes, were also visible on the circle to the right and left; the left paraselen was brighter and had a tail. Not the entire halo circle was visible. It was brightest in its upper part and on the left. At the top of the halo circle there was a bright tangent arc.

How can such extraordinary images be obtained in the air? What are the reasons for this interesting natural phenomenon? Studying the appearance of halos in the sky, scientists have long noticed that they occur when the Sun is covered with a white, shiny haze - a thin veil of high cirrus clouds. Such clouds float at an altitude of 6-8 kilometers above the ground and consist of tiny ice crystals, which most often have the shape of hexagonal columns or plates. Rising and falling in air currents, ice crystals, like a mirror, reflect or, like a prism, refract the sun's rays falling on them. At the same time, reflected rays from some crystals can enter our eyes. Then we watch various shapes halo. Here is one of these forms: a light horizontal circle appears in the sky, encircling the sky parallel to the horizon. Scientists conducted special experiments and found that such a circle arises due to the reflection of sunlight from the side faces of ice hexagonal crystals floating in the air in a vertical position. The rays of the Sun fall on such a crystal, are reflected from it, like from a mirror, and fall into our eyes. But our eyes cannot detect the bending of light rays, so we see the reflected image of the Sun not where it actually is, but on a straight line coming from the eyes, and the image will be visible at the same height above the horizon as real Sun. This phenomenon is similar to how we see the image of an electric light bulb in a mirror at the same time as the electric light bulb itself. There are a lot of such vertically floating mirror crystals in the air. They all reflect the sun's rays. The mirror images of the Sun that fall into our eyes from individual crystals merge, and we see a solid light circle parallel to the horizon. Or it happens like this: The sun has just gone below the horizon, and a light pillar suddenly appears in the dark evening sky. This play of light, as shown by special experiments, involves ice plates floating in the atmosphere in a horizontal position. The rays of the Sun, which has just gone beyond the horizon, fall on the oscillating lower edges of such plates, are reflected and fall into the eyes of the observer. When there are many such crystals in the air, the mirror images of the Sun that come into our eyes from individual ice plates merge into one, and we see a stretched, distorted image of the solar disk beyond recognition - a luminous pillar appears in the sky. Against the background of the evening dawn, it sometimes has a reddish color. Each of us has encountered a phenomenon similar to this more than once. Remember the solar or lunar “path” on the water. Here we see exactly the same distorted reflection of the Sun or Moon, only the role of a mirror is played not by ice crystals, but by the surface of the water. Have you ever seen a light rainbow circle surrounding the Sun? This is also one of the forms of halo. It has been established that this halo is formed in cases where there are many hexagonal ice crystals in the air that refract the sun's rays like a glass prism. We do not see most of these refracted rays; they are scattered in the air. But some crystals also send directed rays into our eyes. Such crystals are located in the sky in a circle around the Sun. They all seem illuminated to us, and in this place we see a light circle, slightly colored in rainbow tones. We do not always see one or another form of halo in full in the sky. For example, in winter, when there is severe frost, two spots of light appear on both sides of the Sun. These are parts of the halo circle. In another case, only the upper part of such a circle is visible - above the Sun. In the past, it was often mistaken for a luminous crown. The same thing happens with a horizontal circle passing through the Sun. Most often, only that part of it that is adjacent to the Sun is visible; then we see in the sky, as it were, two light tails stretching to the right and left of the Sun. It is not difficult to understand how luminous crosses appear in the air. From the Sun, which is low on the horizon or has already gone beyond the horizon, a long luminous pillar stretches upward. This pillar intersects with the part of the halo circle visible above the Sun, and a large luminous cross appears in the sky. Two crosses may appear. This happens when the vertical parts of the halo circle and parts of the horizontal circle adjacent to the Sun are visible in the sky; intersecting, they give two crosses on either side of the Sun. In other cases, instead of crosses, only luminous spots are visible here, close in size to the Sun. They are called false suns. This type of halo is usually observed when the Sun is low above the horizon. Specially conducted experiments show that the formation of false suns involves hexagonal crystals, which float in the air not randomly, but so that their axes are located predominantly vertically. IN northern regions, where in general a halo is observed much more often, loafing suns can be seen dozens of times a year. They are often so bright that they are as bright as the Sun itself. This is how science explains the diverse mysterious phenomena halo and exposes religious superstitions. By studying various phenomena associated with the passage of light in the atmosphere, our scientists not only give them a scientifically correct, materialistic explanation, but also use the acquired knowledge for the development of science. Thus, observations of the crowns, which we talked about, help determine the size of ice crystals and water droplets from which various clouds are formed. Observations of crowns and halos also provide the opportunity for scientific weather prediction. So, if the crown that appears gradually decreases, precipitation can be expected. Increasing crowns, on the contrary, foreshadows the onset of dry, clear weather."

Sky - amazing thing, constantly changing and diverse. But how often do we turn our attention to the sky? Usually people do not notice and are not interested in what is happening in the sky. And only when strange phenomena occur in it, attention to it increases and they begin to say that the sky is giving people signs. One of these unusual natural phenomena is considered halo- light arcs or circles around the sun or moon. But where do they come from and why do they disappear as suddenly as they appear? Let's look into this issue together.

So the word " halo" derived from Greek word « halo", which means "circle" or "disk". Closest to halo a natural phenomenon, which is familiar to us, is a rainbow, that is, the refraction of the rays of a heavenly body. But unlike a rainbow, which can only be observed in daytime, standing with your back to the sun, in air saturated with moisture, a halo appears in the sky at any time of the day - around the sun or moon (and sometimes near a powerful source of artificial light).

Nature halo phenomena in the sky (5-10 km above the ground, in upper layers troposphere) - refraction and decomposition of light rays into a spectrum ( dispersion) in the smallest ice crystals, as well as their reflection from the side faces or bases of these crystals, which have the shape of hexagonal columns or plates. Crystals can be of different sizes and have different origins in the atmosphere, but at the same time obey the same laws of physics - gradually fall, rotating at the same rate for all angular velocity, hover motionlessly or sway harmoniously.

Arcs or circles forming a halo appear at a certain distance from the luminary, equidistant from the light source. Sometimes, in addition to a circle or its segments (arcs), a second one appears, located further than the first, but always at the same distance from the luminary. On these arcs and circles there may be bright spots of light - false suns or false moons. There are several of them, but they all always stand at the same height above the horizon as the star itself, and sometimes even opposite it, on the other side of the sky.

Refraction of light in the sky

If you rely on statistics of observations of the halo phenomenon in the sky, we can conclude that the appearance of a halo is characteristic of cirrostratus clouds, in which sunlight is refracted, reflected and scattered in a complex way in small crystals - hexagonal ice prisms, pyramids, columns or plates. Thanks to the optical properties of these crystals, which have a more regular structure than water droplets, the halo looks much more picturesque than halos and crowns. Cirrostratus clouds often herald the approach of atmospheric front, therefore, by the appearance of a halo, worsening weather can be predicted.

When the sun's rays pass through cirrostratus clouds, which consist of glacial crystals, light oblique crosses, arcs, additional (false) suns, luminous pillars from the horizon to the luminary and other pictures resembling certain objects may appear in the sky. Such phenomena were called “halos” in Russian chronicles, and now they are called solar halo.

Previously in humans the appearance of a halo in the sky caused fear and panic - they seemed bloody swords and were interpreted as harbingers of great trouble - the start of war, famine, epidemic, etc.

On the other hand, changes in the weather, on the eve of which halos often appear in the sky, are also an unpleasant thing, especially when we're talking about about natural disasters.

Shapes and types of halo

The shape of the halo depends on the position of the crystals relative to each other when falling in the atmosphere, when they experience atmospheric braking and take a position at which the greatest air resistance is created. however Brownian motion and atmospheric fluctuations prevent this, with the result that small crystals are randomly distributed in the cloud, and large columnar crystals and platelets are more susceptible to atmospheric drag due to their surface area, so they fall in an oriented manner.

Halo shapes

• Halos can most often be seen in the form circle painted with all the colors of the rainbow around the sun with an angular radius of 22°.
• Slightly less common halo in the form of concentric circles with it a second circle with an angular radius of 22° and 46°.
• And it's very rare Hevelius halo– circle 90°.
• Sometimes you can watch white horizontal circle(parhelic circle), parallel to the horizon plane and passing through the sun. At the intersection of this circle with the halo circles of 22° and 46°, bright rainbow spots appear - false suns ( parhelia), as well as false moons ( parselines).
• It also happens that only visible lower halves of the halo, and elliptical halo. Among these unusual shapes meet rainbows curved in the opposite direction. Most likely these are the lower parts of the 46° or 90° halo circles.

Types of halo

Where and when can you see a halo

More often halo can be seen in Antarctica on its ice dome and on the slopes located at an altitude of 2700-3500 m above sea level. There they can be observed throughout the whole day, while their shape and color may change. Constant strong winds lift clouds of loose snow with a crystalline structure into the air. The lower boundary of such snow clouds descends to the very ground, creating ideal conditions to form a halo. In the absence of snow clouds and in bright sunlight Numerous colored and white halos with a radius of 22° and 46° appear, as well as more rare other phenomena.

Air saturated with moisture tends to crystallize when cooled. When carrying large volumes of wet air masses In the upper layers of the atmosphere over the continent, moisture condensation, crystallization and frost formation occur. In the warm season, ice crystals do not reach the surface of the earth and dissolve in lower layers atmosphere, again saturating the air with moisture. Therefore, the halo phenomenon is more likely to be observed on the continental part of the continents than near the coast.

Sometimes in frosty weather a halo forms near earth's surface, and the ice crystals in the air sparkle like gems, enhancing the radiance of the halo. If the sun is low above the horizon, the lower part of the halo can sometimes be seen against the background of the surrounding landscape.

Our observations of halo in the sky

We have seen this phenomenon many times, but not every time we had a camera with us. But we especially remember two incidents: when we were driving along Dmitrovskoe highway towards Moscow, and a spectacular solar phenomenon accompanied us almost the entire trip. And on another sunny day in Pai in Northern Thailand, we saw a very beautiful circle of light in a clear sky.

Halo in the photo

Halo in Thailand, Pai city

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 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 capture rays of white light and refract it, breaking it down 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 the collision was simulated using a computer program, 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 correct, then we may be walking through pieces of our moon's former brother every day.

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).

Weather research. Folk signs determining weather from the Moon.

Weather prediction using the Moon.

Folk signs that predict the weather using the moon.

Observation of a halo can serve as a local weather indicator. Halos are always observed in cirrostratus clouds, which are usually part of the warm front cloud system. 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 local residents They look at the sky at night and see a halo - a circle around the moon - they know that a storm will come 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 fire swords of angels, bloody swords, crosses (the intersection of the parhelium and the small halo, a pillar of light and the upper part of the 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, a solar eclipse occurred. “Then Igor looked at bright sun and saw that it covered him with the darkness of warriors.” 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.