A Ukrainian polar explorer filmed an impressive lunar halo and pearly clouds over Vernadsky. Photo

A Ukrainian polar explorer took incredible photos near the Akademik Vernadsky station. The Antarctic sky was illuminated by an amazing lunar halo and pearly clouds.

The meteorologist of the 29th UAE, Serhii Yakushchenko, shared his photos on the National Antarctic Research Center's Facebook page. Judging by the photos, it was the cirrus cloud cover that "painted" a rainbow around the Moon in the Vernadsky area that night.

According to scientists, halos can occur around various light sources, even streetlights. When a large number of ice crystals accumulate in the atmosphere, the light passing through them is refracted and reflected. This creates a secondary glow around the light source.

"Halos are often caused by cirrus clouds, which are almost transparent and consist of ice crystals. They cover the entire sky and look like either a light homogeneous veil without clear details or a white fibrous veil with more or less clear stripes," the Vernadsky researchers said.

The polar explorers noted that the published photo shows how the feathery-layered cover of the night created a rainbow around the moon above the Ukrainian Arctic station. And at some point, the moonlight "illuminated" the pearly clouds.

Scientists say that nacreous clouds form mostly over mountains when a strong air current bypasses a mountain range and carries moisture into the stratosphere. "There, under the influence of very low temperatures (-50°C and below), moisture quickly turns into ice crystals. Light reflected in these crystals at a certain angle causes the optical effect of iridescence. It is what "colors" the clouds in different colors," the Ukrainian researchers noted in the post.

According to experts, pearlescent clouds are mostly "illuminated" by the rising or setting of the Sun, which is a few degrees below the horizon. Then, in the absence of excessive scattered light in the atmosphere, the iridescent shades of colors look the most juicy.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that a rare phenomenon was recorded at the Ukrainian Antarctic station "Akademik Vernadsky": the sky was not overcast and showed the polar explorers a big beautiful Moon.

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