# ring around the moon **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 1999, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933 "1999-11-21T01:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/1 "1999-11-21T01:34:00Z")
Does a halo or “ring around the moon” really mean it is going to rain soon? Mike ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/2 "1999-11-21T02:29:00Z")
There’s never any guarantee that it will or won’t rain. The halo, though, indicates that there’s a lot of moisture in the air – it’s composed of tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere. * * * –Da Cap’n “Playin’ solitaire 'til dawn With a deck of fifty-one.” ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/3 "1999-11-21T04:29:00Z")
The same phenomenon can also cause a ring around the sun, which appears as a black ring. It is less often seen, and rather ominous if you ever see a dark vivid one. * * * Designated Optional Signature at Bottom of Post ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/4 "1999-11-21T21:05:00Z")
It means they didn’t use SHout ,“ring around the moon” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/5 "1999-11-21T21:10:00Z")
Capn is right. also the high altitude, whispy cloud formations are ice crystal clouds and if you see them there may be a chance for rain in the next day or so. No guantees of course. but there is some meterological basis to it from what I understand. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/6 "1999-11-21T21:16:00Z")
what I found says that the ice crystal clouds come before a warm front, sometimes causing long easy rains look at number 8… bout mid page in the link [http://athena.wednet.edu/curric/weather/hsweathr/solutions.html#halo](http://athena.wednet.edu/curric/weather/hsweathr/solutions.html#halo) ---
**Author:** ![counterattackii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@counterattackii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/counterattackii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 1999, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/7 "1999-11-21T21:47:00Z")
I always was told it meant Snow… ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 1999, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/8 "1999-11-22T01:56:00Z")
Thanks to all who have replied to my ring around the moon question…it just so happens that I saw the ring about two days before it rained here and during a wam front so the replies were mostly dead on. mike r … … * * * ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 1999, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/9 "1999-11-24T21:11:00Z")
Sometime in summer 1990, in Manhattan Beach, CA, around noon, I saw a circular rainbow around the _sun!!_ The next year, on June 10, 1991, coming back from Las Vegas on a Greyhound bus, I was about 2 hours east of Barstow when I saw a rainbow “ribbon” radiating out from the sun, purple at one end, red at the other, like a long colorful scarf around someone’s neck. I even photographed it. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 1999, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ring-around-the-moon/4933/10 "1999-11-26T03:57:00Z")
We in the midwest (at least me) saw a ring around the moon last night. It was beautiful. I took pictures and video but I don’t know if the pics came out good or not.