Halo around the full moon

[ianseeley]

I am a complete amateur, but an avid skywatcher and APOD follower. Please excuse the following (perhaps) dumb question.

I have recently noticed a large halo around the moon, that had an apparent radius of the length of my hand at arm’s length.

Given that my hand measures 8 inches from wrist to finger tips, and my eye is 22 inches from my hand at arm’s length, how high are the clouds?

If I knew the angle of refraction, I could then estimate the cloud ceiling on a night such as tonight, where the halo is roughly one finger joint or one inch.

Probably a very simple task? (I’d probably do better using an actual ruler but the hand measurement is coarse but very convenient).
I would like to make a simple calculator that would give me this data easily on these clear winter nights.

Many thanks again to all of you who help us in our eternal quest for enlightenment,

Ian Seeley

[Chris Peterson]

I have recently noticed a large halo around the moon, that had an apparent radius of the length of my hand at arm’s length.

Given that my hand measures 8 inches from wrist to finger tips, and my eye is 22 inches from my hand at arm’s length, how high are the clouds?

tan(theta) = 8/22, so theta = 20°

What you are seeing is the most common type of ice halo, which has a radius of 22°. However, since it is the angle that is constant, not any absolute size, there is no way to determine the cloud height. All you really know is that since this type of halo is normally produced by cirrus clouds, they are high- typically 7 km or more.

[wonderboy]

This is caused by cloud suspended ice crystals refracting light from the moon. I remember I saw one of these one night and loved it. In 25 years of life, I've only ever seen 1. You also get them around lamp posts and other light sources when there are ice crystals hanging in the air. its quite remarkable but simple really.

[Chris Peterson]

This is caused by cloud suspended ice crystals refracting light from the moon. I remember I saw one of these one night and loved it. In 25 years of life, I've only ever seen 1.

You need to get outside more! Lunar and solar halos are very common. They happen many times every year whether you live at the poles or the equator, and whether the Moon is full or just a crescent.

[wonderboy]

I'll be honest, theres not one night that I don't look at the stars. I look up most of the time!

[owlice]

Wonderboy, check this out: http://www.atoptics.co.uk/opod.htm

[wonderboy]

Thats pretty cool. looks like theres some lenticular clouds on the go there as well. Not as dramatic as some lenticular clouds Ive seen but I think they're ace aswell. Thanks.