May 1883
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1883natur..28...30m&link_type=abstract
Nature, Volume 28, Issue 706, pp. 30-31 (1883).
Physics
Scientific paper
THE explanation of the phenomenon observed on the 16th ult., which is given by ``Sm.'' of Rugby, appears to me to be scarcely satisfactory. According to the usual explanation of halos, parhelia, and paraselenæ, which attributes them to refraction by prismatic ice-crystals at high elevations, the parhelia always appear on the horizontal parheliacal ring which passes through the centre of the sun, and generally at the intersection of this ring with the vertical halo. The two parhelia must therefore always lie in a line parallel to the horizon, and at the same elevation as the sun itself. The same laws regulate the appearance of the paraselenæ or mock moons. It therefore surprised me to learn that the left-hand mock moon appeared at a greater distance from the horizon than the right-hand one. It seemed to me to be ``unaccountably out of place.'' That the circle should have subtended an angle of 50°, as stated by ``Sm.'', is in itself unusual. The normal diameter is understood to be from 44° to 47°, Did ``Sm.'' actually measure it? To my judgment it was considerably more than this, but of course mere estimates are not trustworthy. I do not see how a ``change of level of the refracting cloud'' should alter the position of the mock moons. This must depend upon the relative positions of the moon and the observer's eye. If the cloud is not in the right place no mock moons will be seen. I should be glad of a satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon recorded.
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