LUNAR CORONA OVER THE MOUNTAINS

  LUNAR CORONA OVER THE MOUNTAINS

A soft ring formed around the Moon .. not just white, but tinted with faint reds, greens, and blues. As thin clouds moved across the sky, the colors brightened and faded, shifting gently around the Moon.

This rare sight is known as a lunar corona. Unlike a large halo, which forms from ice crystals high in the atmosphere, a corona appears when moonlight passes through tiny water droplets in thin clouds. The droplets diffract the light, separating it into soft pastel bands close to the Moon.

The mountains below remained dark and still while the colors changed overhead. No thunder, no wind .. just a bright Moon surrounded by delicate shifting light as clouds drifted at high altitude.

By midnight, thicker clouds covered the sky and the colors faded, leaving only the bright Moon.

 Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina