Ring around the Moon

'Ring around the Moon' - Canon compact camera - View last night over the Jodrell Plank Observatory

"For some while, the weather over Lowestoft has been very unsuitable for astronomy. Last night we had some rain, lots of cloud and a few moments during which we could see the full moon over the Observatory. We noticed that there was a ring or halo around the moon! A ring is an optical artefact created as sunlight, reflected from the Moon's surface, is reflected and refracted by thin clouds of tiny ice crystals that sometime form in the Earth's upper atmosphere.  Each tiny ice crystal acts like a miniature optical lens. The crystals have a similar elongated hexagonal shape and light entering through one face and exiting via another is refracted by 22 degrees which corresponds to the diameter of the outer ring or halo in the above image" - Karl Seguine - Jodrell Plank Observatory Community outreach coordinator.

'Early Heads Up - As observable from most of the Northern Hemisphere, the innermost planet Mercury will be seen to transit the face of the Sun on the 11th November 2019.  

As seen from the UK, the transit will commence at 12:35 UT when the Sun's altitude will be 19 degrees. Mercury's very small black dot reaches greatest transit at approximately 15:19 UT when the Sun's altitude will be only 7 degrees. The transit will be ongoing after sunset as viewed from the UK.

Caution: NEVER observe or image the Sun with the naked eye or any unfiltered optical instrument. If you wish to witness this event contact your local amateur astronomy association or club who will be happy to help you undertake this safely.