An Etruscan Vase Moon Rising
			
		
		
			Credit & Copyright: 
John Stetson
		
		
			What's happened to the Moon?
Nothing, although from some locations, February's full moon, 
which occurred about two weeks ago, appeared 
strangely distorted as it rose.  
Visible in particular was a 
curiously 
inverted image section pinched off 
near the horizon, 
an effect dubbed the Etruscan vase by the pioneering science fiction writer 
Jules Verne for its familiar shape.  
This odd moon image piece was created by moonlight 
refracting through an 
atmospheric inversion layer on 
Earth where cold air was 
trapped near the surface.
The photographer also reported that, as the moon rose, a 
red rim was faintly 
visible on the lower part of the moon, while a 
green rim appeared on the top.  
Similar to the Sun's famous 
green flash, these 
effects arise 
when the Earth's atmosphere acts like a 
prism, sending different colors of light on slightly 
different paths.  
The above image mosaic has been 
horizontally compressed by computer 
to fit a standard screen.