Last night, photographers in the District were able to capture a colored ring in the sky around the moon.

Photo by Beth Novey.

The real question is whether or not the ring was actually a “moonbow” or not. A moonbow — also known as a lunar rainbow, lunar bow or white rainbow — occurs much the same way as a normal rainbow, when light is reflected off the surface of the moon instead of the sun through a refractor, usually water. The phenomenon can be witnessed when the moon is full, as it was last night.

But last night’s halo might not have actually been a moonbow — rather, it looked like it might have been a 22° halo, a similar phenomenon which also occurs when the sky has several thin cirrus clouds containing ice crystals that produce a refraction.

Of course, “moonbow” makes for much better headlines and hashtags, so whether people actually care about the precise name of the phenomenon is up for debate.