Nov 29, 2018 1 min read

If you were out and about Friday evening, you may have noticed a bright halo around the moon.

Halos around the moon and sun are caused by high, thin cirrus clouds and tiny ice crystals in the Earth’s atmosphere according to earthsky.org.

The Farmers’ Almanac states that light passes through the ice crystals and are bent at a 22-degree angle, which is what creates a visible 22-degree-radius halo.

There are several myths associated with the halos. The Farmers’ Almanac says it predicts, “impending unsettled weather, especially during the winter months.”

In an article for howstuffworks.com by Katie Kershner, it states that this could be true in some instances because the cirrus clouds can be present before some low-pressure systems and those systems usually bring precipitation.

The halo around the full moon seen Friday was followed by rain in parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania the next day.