Pyrenees Paraselene


A sea of clouds laps at rugged moutain peaks of the French Pyrenees in this serene
view from Pic du Midi Observatory. The time exposure was recorded on June 4,
with the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius shining in the starry night. At
the top right lies a faint, but colorful moondog or paraselene. 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, a bright gibbous Moon illuminates the scene from beyond
the picture's right edge, 22 degrees from the lovely paraselene.