A meteorologist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, an independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight has described reports that acid rains are due to fall from the 20th to the 28th of March as inaccurate and false. A Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) expert with NASA, Bill Patzert in his response to an inquiry from THEWILL on Monday said a black or dark circle around the moon is a common occurrence in space and has no relationship whatsoever with acid rain. "Dark circles around the moon are more common than you realize. Basically it's an optical illusion when you get very clear skies and fine ice particle in the upper atmosphere. "What you get is the moon, a dark circle round it, then a sky lit up with diffracted moonlight. It looks pretty, that is all. Nothing mystical or paranormal at all,"he added. Many persons at home and abroad have been receiving messages on their phones, emails and blogs warning of the possibility of acid rain allegedly emanating from NASA, which we could not verify over the weekend. One message said: "There is a possibility of acid rain. The dark circle appeared around the moon on March 17 and this was an indication of an acid rain. Apparently, this happens once in 750 years. It rains like normal rain, but it may cause skin cancer if you expose yourself to it. This is coming from NASA, warn your family and friends." Bill said the dark circles, which he referred to as a 'halo' are not unusual but may cause rain or bad weather. He however completely ruled out the possibility of acid rain. "I have seen one before that encircled the moon with a very clear gap (thus, the black circle). Each occurrence will not look exactly like the last one, each will be a bit different….not that unusual. "Also, weather folklore says that a ring around the moon signifies bad weather is coming, and in many cases this may be true. The ice crystals that cover the halo signify high altitude, thin cirrus clouds that normally precede a front by one or two days. "There is no connection to acid rain ... but a possible rain connection,"