The Angelic Moon

Last night was Halloween and as I gazed up to the skies I wondered what sort of 'trick' was being played before me. Then I wondered what had crashed into the moon, causing a huge impact explosion. Perhaps it was the end of the world, and the sign of the coming of the Son of Man? There were many sore and aching necks around Kuantan last night as everyone marvelled at the rare scene before our eyes...

What we were witnessing, infact, was an optical phenomenon called a 22 degree halo. These halos appear when the sky is covered with thin cirrus clouds containing ice crystals. It forms when sunlight is refracted in hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. The ice crystals act as prisms and the light passes through them, dissecting into colours. {Click on the pictures for a clearer view}