Roberta De Carolis Nature is stunning and today it has given us a great emotion, thanks also to the skill of astrophotographer Alessandra Masi, who managed to capture lunar iridescence over the Dolomites, a breathtaking spectacle
The lunar iridescence surrounding our satellite in its full phase, above the extraordinary spires of the Dolomiti d’oltre Piave: the breathtaking photo, taken by astrophotographer Alessandra Masi, is making waves across the web. This extraordinary phenomenon was captured on the night of October 6th, when the sky shone with the Hunter’s Moon.
The full Moon, surrounded by beautiful iridescence, above the extraordinary spires of the Dolomiti d’oltre Piave – writes the author of the shot on her Instagram page – On the left is Cridola, in the center Torre Valentino and Crodon di Giaf, and on the right Monfalcon di Cimoliana and Punta Koegel
As Marco Meniero explains on the ‘Gruppo Astrofili Galileo Galilei’ portal, lunar iridescence is quite rare, appearing when moonlight passes through cirrus clouds, clouds present in the upper troposphere (from 16,400 feet of altitude up to 42,650 feet in temperate regions) that appear as white filaments or whitish patches arranged in narrow bands, with a filamentous or silky appearance.
The colors are generated by the diffraction of light around water droplets and ice particles. If the sizes of the droplets and ice crystals are similar, round coronas form; otherwise, the phenomenon appears with different shapes, as in Alessandra Masi’s photo.
The author has already been featured multiple times in NASA’s photos of the day with her works. And who knows if this one won’t be mentioned again as well, it’s truly extraordinary.
Source: Alessandra Masi/Instagram
