Incredibly rare weather phenomenon leaves Britons baffled

One Cornwall resident told Cornwall Live: "Got home tonight to see this, very weird circle around the moon."

Meanwhile, an observer in Devon noted: "The best lunar halo I've seen in ages. There's something special about witnessing these, especially good ones like this. I've probably seen close to 100 over the years, but they always amaze me."

The phenomenon, which appeared on January 31, left many stargazers intrigued by the striking luminous "halo" surrounding the lunar surface.

This phenomenon occurs when light from the moon bends as it passes through frozen particles suspended in the upper atmosphere.

Specifically, the luminous halo forms when moonlight refracts through countless tiny hexagonal-shaped ice crystals found within high-altitude cirrus clouds.

The process mirrors how rainbows develop, although instead of water droplets splitting sunlight into its spectrum, the geometric structure of ice crystals creates a distinctive circular pattern.

Refraction itself describes the bending of light waves as they transition between different transparent substances—in this instance, moving from air into ice.

The result is a bright ring of light that appears to encircle the moon completely.

These lunar haloes are classified according to their angular distance from the moon, with designations including 22 degree, 46 degree, and 9 degree varieties depending upon the particular crystal structure and orientation involved.

The timing of Saturday's display proved fortuitous for observers, as such phenomena become considerably more visible when the moon approaches its fullest phase.

With the full moon occurring on Sunday, February 1, conditions were optimal for witnessing the spectacle.

A similar effect can occur around the sun, though solar haloes tend to be spotted more readily owing to the greater intensity of sunlight compared to its lunar counterpart.

Traditional weather lore says that a luminous ring around the moon signals unsettled conditions on the horizon, typically heralding rain or snowfall.

This carries genuine scientific merit, as lunar haloes frequently appear when a weather front draws near.

The cirrus clouds responsible for creating the halo effect represent the earliest visible indication of an approaching front.

Consequently, spotting such a celestial ring often serves as a reliable warning of rain to come.

The circles typically present as white bands, though they may display a reddish tinge along their inner edge and a bluish hue on the outer rim—far less vivid than a conventional rainbow.

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