Lunar halo and pearly clouds: polar explorers showed unique pictures of the sky

>> halos and nacreous clouds/National Antarctic Science Center

Ukrainian polar explorers from the Akademik Vernadskyi station shared pictures of the sky over Antarctica. The photo shows nacreous clouds and a rare phenomenon – a lunar halo.

The photos were published by the National Antarctic Science Center. Their author is the meteorologist of the 29th UAE Serhiy Yakushchenko.

As the polar explorers said, a lunar halo can appear around various light sources, even street lamps. It is caused by the accumulation of a large number of ice crystals in the atmosphere: light passing through them is refracted and reflected, and a secondary glow forms around the light source.

Halos are often caused by cirrus-layered clouds – they are almost transparent and consist of ice crystals. Pulling the sky, these clouds look like a uniform veil or a white fibrous veil with stripes.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Judging by the photo, it was the feathery layered cover that night that “painted” the rainbow around the Moon in the “Vernadskyi” area. And at some point the moonlight “illuminated” pearly clouds – you can see them in one of the photos. They are formed mostly over mountains, when a strong air flow bypasses the mountain range and brings moisture into the stratosphere. There, under the influence of very low temperatures (-50°C and below), moisture quickly turns into ice crystals. Light, reflecting in these crystals at a certain angle, causes the optical effect of iridescence. It “paints” the clouds in different colors, the report says.

In addition, the moonlight “illuminated” the pearly clouds. They are mostly formed over mountains when a strong air flow bypasses the mountain range and brings moisture into the stratosphere. Under the influence of very low temperatures, moisture quickly crystallizes, and light, reflecting in these crystals at a certain angle, “paints” the clouds in different colors.