skyeye
An Etruscan Vase Moon Rising

What's happened to the Moon? Nothing, although from some locations, February's full moon,
which occurred about two weeks ago, appeared strangely distorted as it rose. Visible in particular
was a curiously inverted image section pinched off near the horizon, an effect dubbed the Etruscan
vase by the pioneering science fiction writer Jules Verne for its familiar shape. This odd moon image
piece was created by moonlight refracting through an atmospheric inversion layer on Earth where cold
air was trapped near the surface. The photographer also reported that, as the moon rose, a red rim was
faintly visible on the lower part of the moon, while a green rim appeared on the top. Similar to the
Sun's famous green flash, these effects arise when the Earth's atmosphere acts like a prism, sending
different colors of light on slightly different paths. The above image mosaic has been horizontally
compressed by computer to fit a standard screen.

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