'Halo' spotted around the Moon across England

26 November 2023

Newtown Creek, Isle of Wight — Image caption,
The halo around the Moon was seen over the Isle of Wight, among other places, on Saturday evening

By Sophie Madden

BBC News

A "lunar halo" has been spotted in the night skies.

The ring around the Moon was seen over the skies on Saturday evening in Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Surrey, Berkshire, Dorset, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire and the Isle of Wight.

The phenomenon is caused by the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere.

According to the Met Office, the halo can mean rainfall might be approaching.

Pacamac

The halo is seen in Ashbourne in Derbyshire

Sue Ketteridge

The halo as seen over Poole's Old Town in Dorset

Lynne Smith

The phenomenon is caused by light refracting through ice crystals, as spotted in Cheadle, Staffordshire

Jono/Weather Watchers

The halo, a sign that rain might be coming, was also seen in Kirklees, West Yorkshire

What are Sun and Moon halos?

It added: "The halo is caused by ice crystals formed in high clouds.

"These ice crystals then refract the light from the Moon or Sun.

"As the ice crystals travel lower, precipitation becomes more likely. In summer months particularly, the Halo can be a sign of approaching storms."

traindriver_Surrey

The halo was seen over the skies in Surrey on Saturday night

Roger Steadman

And over Shirley in the West Midlands

Anna Butcher

The lunar halo was also seen over Wokingham in Berkshire

Jonny Gios

And in Kendal, Cumbria

Geographer Simon Collins said he was "delighted" to catch a glimpse of the moment.

"I'm a keen weather observer [and] run a local weather station so am always delighted to see lovely weather phenomena as so many others did last night as well," the 57-year-old, who took a photo in Reigate, Surrey on Saturday night, said.

Some described witnessing the occurrence as "amazing", with others described it as "very weird" and "like a night time rainbow".