Giant halo appears around the moon. Here’s what caused it

ORLANDO, Fla. – A halo around the moon put on a show-stopping display Tuesday night.

No, it wasn’t aliens but simply ice crystals making up the high, thin cirrus clouds drifting through the Central Florida sky.

Light from either the sun or moon refracts through the ice crystals.

A 22-degree halo then forms around the sun or moon. A 22-degree halo is the most common halo to form during refraction. In rare cases, a 46-degree halo forms.

As the sun was setting Tuesday evening, sun dogs appeared near the horizon.

Sun dogs also form by refraction, however, hexagonal plates make up the clouds versus the column-like ice crystals that form halos.

These phenomenon can happen year-round, but our most common during the cold months as ice crystals are needed to create the optics.

You can share your photos of the moon on the News 6 PinIt! page. Check out these viewer photos!