Odd-Radius Lunar Halos Encircling Jupiter and Saturn
October 19, 2021
Photographer: Soumyadeep Mukherjee
Summary Author: Soumyadeep Mukherjee
The halos around the Moon are the odd-radius halos caused by pyramidal shaped ice crystals, as confirmed by Les Cowley via EarthSky. These sorts of optical halos are considered to be rarer than the even radius halos caused by plate or column shaped ice crystals (22° and 46° halos). Also, there are multiple halos around the moon visible. As a bonus, these halos encircle Jupiter (on the left of the moon) and Saturn (on the right of the moon) as the three celestial bodies came for a near-conjunction in the night sky. These halos appeared for 10 minutes while I was able to capture them from my home in Kolkata, India. Photo taken on August 21, 2021.
Photo details: Gear: Nikon D5600, Tokina 11-16 atx-i lens, f/4, 8 second exposure, ISO-320, 11mm focal length, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop