A week ago Sunday Siegfried and Gretel Matull noticed something unusual about the moon. Siegfried wrote, “About eight pm we got another nature surprise when we went out onto our deck. We discovered another unbelievable experience of our lifetimes. I ran to get my camera, and took some pictures. In all of our lives we have never seen this before. Why was there this wide circle around the moon?”

The Matulls witnessed a halo, also called a nimbus, icebow or gloriole. It’s an optical phenomenon caused by ice crystals. Halos often predict that rain will fall within the next 24 hours.

I saw a halo around the moon very early this morning. The moon was in the west, low in the sky. Rain is predicted for later tonight!

Thanks to Siegfried for allowing me to share his photo with you here.