Lunar Corona Above the Rocca del Brunelleschi
October 08, 2021
Photographer: Marco Meniero
Summary Author: Marco Meniero; Jim Foster
Featured above is a charming lunar corona as observed above the Rocca del Brunelleschi in Tuscany, Italy, on the night of July 12, 2021. Coronas consist of two or more concentric, pastel-colored rings. The central bright area is called the aureole, which has the appearance of a bluish-white disk that fades to reddish-brown towards the edge. Note that the aureole is sometimes the only visible portion of a lunar or solar corona. Diffraction of moonlight by minute water droplets that compose mid-level clouds is responsible for the formation of coronas.
The Rocca del Brunelleschi and its renowned tower was commissioned to the architect Filippo Brunelleschi in 1434 when the village of Vicopisano, where the tower now stands, was successfully defended after being besieged for eight months by the Florentines.
Photo details: Eos 1DXMK2 camera; Sigma 105; f/1.4.