Supermoon dazzles with a halo in the night sky

Supermoon dazzles with a halo in the night sky

The final supermoon of 2025 lit up the night sky on Thursday, captivating viewers across the globe. As the third supermoon this year, it appeared noticeably larger and more luminous than a typical full Moon. Observers in the UK were even treated to the sight of a halo encircling the Moon, an atmospheric effect accompanied by traditional folklore: “Ring around the Moon, rain real soon.”

Supermoons occur because the Moon follows an elliptical orbit around Earth, causing its distance from us to vary. When the Moon reaches its closest approach, known as perigee, at the same time as a full Moon, the result is a supermoon. At this point, the Moon appears significantly bigger and brighter when viewed from Earth’s surface.

Adding to the spectacle in some locations was a 22-degree halo, a circular glow formed around the Moon by high-altitude ice crystals. This phenomenon happens when light from the Moon refracts and reflects through a thin layer of ice cloud present in the upper atmosphere. Such ice clouds often signal that a weather front is approaching, which is why the folklore associates the halo with imminent rain.

Indeed, on Friday morning, high-level ice clouds swept across southern England, where the halo had been observed the night before. Consistent with this sign, much of the UK experienced rainfall spreading through the day, accompanied by increasing winds. Thus, the old weather rhyme held true once again

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More