WHAT IS THE LUNAR RAINBOW?
A rainbow is a thing of beauty. We know that a rainbow is produced when sunlight is refracted by water droplets in the atmosphere. However, what happens if water droplets reflect and refract moonlight? Simple. We get a moonbow, and no, they aren't a figment of your imagination.
Moonbows are known as moon rainbow or lunar rainbows. They are much fainter than rainbows because of the lower intensity of moonlight (which is reflected sunlight), and their colours are too faint to be perceived by the human eye. They often appear a ghostly white. However, the colours can be seen through photography. They can be viewed most easily when the Moon is at or nearest to its brightest phase, full-moon. The best time to see moonbows is a couple of hours before sunrise or after sunset. Did you know that they are said to have first been mentioned by Aristotle back in 350BC and that there are certain parts of the world where you are more likely to see them, such as Hawaii?
Picture Credit : Google