Serene Paraselene

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day nestled in the Austrian Alps, frozen Lake Ossiach stretches across the foreground of this serene view. Recorded on 2010 March 1, the night sky includes a nearly full Moon and bright planet Saturn seen through thin clouds near picture center. It also includes a remarkably bright and colorful moondog or paraselene at the left. Analogous to a sundog or parhelion, the paraselene is produced by moonlight shining through thin, hexagonal-shaped ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. As determined by the ice crystal geometry, the Moon is 22 degrees from the lovely paraselene. © Tamas Ladanyi