paraselenic circle

paraselenic circle

[¦par·ə·sə′len·ik ′sər·kəl]

(astronomy)

A halo phenomenon consisting of a horizontal circle passing through the moon, corresponding to the parhelic circle through the sun, and produced by reflection of moonlight from ice crystals.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.