Astrophotos: Sun Halo, Crescent Moon and Earthshine

By Nancy Atkinson - March 03, 2014 05:12 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

Here's a few great astrophotos for today! Astrophotographer

César Cantú

from the Chilidog Observatory in Monterrey, Mexico captured this stunning halo around the Sun on March 2, 2014. A solar halo is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Conditions in the atmosphere have to be just right, with moisture or ice crystals creating a "rainbow" effect around the Sun. Sometimes the halos surround the Sun completely, other times, they appear as arcs around the Sun creating what is known as sundogs. Basically, sunlight is reflecting off moisture in the atmosphere.

Ice crystals in Earth's atmosphere can also cause rings around the Moon, and moondogs and even Venus "pillars."

But make sure you look at the crescent Moon tonight -- if you've missed seeing the thin crescent the past two evenings, tonight it will still be only 11% illuminated (according to

Universe Today's Phases of the Moon app

!). Tonight you still might have the chance to see a little Earthshine -- reflected Earthlight visible on the Moon's night side.

See some great crescent Moon and Earthshine images below!

This image comes from one of our "regulars,"

John Chumack

, who says, "If you have clear skies, go out again tonight (03-03-2014) and look West between 7:00pm and 8:00pm EST, you will see the crescent Moon with Earthshine!"

Also, just another note from John: between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm the Planet Uranus is 7.5 degrees below the Crescent Moon just after Sunset, but you will not see Uranus until it gets dark enough. You will need a telescope or binoculars to easily view Uranus at Magnitude 5.9, shortly after 8:15pm Uranus will set in the west and then the Moon follows shortly after that.

[caption id="attachment_109974" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

The young thin Crescent Moon with Earthshine was hanging low in the west near Tampa, Florida on March 2, 2014. Credit and copyright: John Chumack. [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_109975" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

The Crescent Moon at 2.45 days old on March 3, 2014. Credit and copyright: James Lennie. [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_109976" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

Crescent Moon with Earthshine on March 3, 2014. Credit and copyright: Raymond Gilchrist. [/caption]

Check out more great images on our

Flickr group page.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you're giving us permission to post them). Please explain what's in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com