What does it mean when there is a yellow ring around the moon?

Answer 1

That means there is a certain type of clouds in the atmosphere, which causes this phenomenon.

You've seen pictures of the planet Saturn, surrounded by its system of rings, but would you be surprised if you looked up at night to see a ring around the moon?

In fact, it's sometimes possible to see just this. There's even a folk rhyme about it: When there's a ring around the moon, rain or snow is coming soon. Is there really, sometimes, a ring around the moon?

An Optical Illusion

Unlike Saturn, which has actual, physical rings, the ring you can sometimes see around the moon is merely an optical illusion.

It's an effect of our own atmosphere that meteorologists call a "halo effect," because diffracted light rays create a halo around a bright object.

How It Works

Moon halos are caused by tiny ice crystals that have gathered twenty thousand feet above the ground, as thin, wispy clouds. These clouds are so thin, you might not notice them at night, if it weren't for their effect on the moonlight. Incoming light rays from the moon are bent, or diffracted, by these ice crystals at an angle of 22 degrees.

This means that in addition to the direct moonlight, you will also see diffracted moonlight in a circle 22 degrees away from the moon. This is about the distance of your fist, held at arm's length.

Like a rainbow, this halo can even be slightly colored; red on the inside, and blue on the outside.

Yes, it can mean that rain or snow is coming soon. Those high, wispy clouds could be the forerunners of storm clouds right behind them.

Answer 2

The website below has the perfect explanation:

It says:

"The ring around the Moon is caused by the refraction of Moonlight (which of course is reflected sunlight) from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. The shape of the ice crystals results in a focusing of the light into a ring. Since the ice crystals typically have the same shape, namely a hexagonal shape, the Moon ring is almost always the same size. Less typical are the halos that may be produced by different angles in the crystals. They can create halos with an angle of 46 degrees.

Moon Ring Weather Folklore:

Folklore has it that a ring around the moon signifies bad weather is coming, and in many cases this may be true. So how can rings around the moon be a predictor of weather to come? The ice crystals that cover the halo signify high altitude, thin cirrus clouds that normally precede a warm front by one or two days. Typically, a warm front will be associated with a low pressure system which is commonly referred to as a storm. It is believed that the number of stars within a moon halo indicate the number days before bad weather will arrive. Give it a try the next time you observe a moon halo."

Answer 3

A "ring around the Moon" indicate that there is a layer of microscopic ice crystals high in the atmosphere.

A website on Moon Light Effects (linked below) has the perfect explanation:

"The ring around the Moon is caused by the refraction of Moonlight (which of course is reflected sunlight) from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. The shape of the ice crystals results in a focusing of the light into a ring. Since the ice crystals typically have the same shape, namely a hexagonal shape, the Moon ring is almost always the same size. Less typical are the halos that may be produced by different angles in the crystals. They can create halos with an angle of 46 degrees....

Folklore has it that a ring around the moon signifies bad weather is coming... The ice crystals that cover the halo signify high altitude, thin cirrus clouds that normally precede a warm front by one or two days. Typically, a warm front will be associated with a low pressure system which is commonly referred to as a storm....

It is believed that the number of stars within a moon halo indicate the number days before bad weather will arrive."

See the Related Link below for more information.
It means there are water droplets in the atmosphere, producing this effect.

Answer 4

A ring or halo around the moon is caused by high-level ice crystals reflecting and refracting moonlight toward the ground. The color of the halo depends on a number of environmental factors, but yellow is not atypical. An old bit of folklore said that the number of stars in the moon's ring would determine the number of days until it snowed next. While this could have some scientific backing, in that the halo is smaller when the ice cloud layer is thicker, it's not necessarily a reliable source of information, especially in southern latitudes. Regardless of that, the appearance of a halo around the moon means there is a very cold layer of air in the upper atmosphere.

Answer 5

It means that there is a storm coming? No. It means that the light of the sun is reflecting off of the moon and illuminating high (about 20000 ft) cirrus clouds containing ice crystals. The red part is a combination of pollutants, mostly nitrogen and oxides, plus sulfer dioxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs); all are from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. If you are truly interested, check out "physical geography" or "anthropogenic atmosphere"

Answer 6

The sight you're referring to is often a winter phenomena, and is the result of tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere. The crystals refract moonlight to give the appearance of a ring around the moon in much the same way that raindrops refract sunlight to produce a rainbow.

Answer 7

Doesn't mean anything this can happen at anytime during the year when ever the moon is closer to the equator.When you see the Moon from here on Earth, the atmosphere partially blocks your view. The particles in the atmosphere scatter certain wavelengths of light, and permit other wavelengths to get through directly. When the Moon is low in the sky, you're seeing its light go through the most atmosphere. Light on the blue end of the spectrum is scattered away, while the red light isn't scattered. This is why the Moon looks more red. As it goes higher in the sky, the Moon is obscured by less and less atmosphere, so it turns more yellow - the same thing happens to the Sun as it rises in the sky. I do know this when a red moon acures it means an eclipse is nearing cause the sun is absorbing light behind the moon.

Answer 8

Refraction of moonlight by ice crystals. The angle of the crystals produces a color.

Answer 9

there is ice in the atmosphere and it is just refelecting the moons light. i asked the same question in my metorology class and that is the answer i got

Answer 10

Such rings are caused by light scattered in clouds in the Earth's upper atmosphere.