Moonbows

[inzilbeth]

I was on the road very early this morning, a good hour before the first hint of dawn appeared in the sky, as I had to take two steers to the butcher. It was pouring with rain but the moon was almost a full one and it wasn't obscured by the rain clouds. Suddenly, up ahead, I saw a rainbow, or rather what i thought was a rainbow except of course there was no sun. Then I realised it could only the moonlight which have caused it to form. It's obvious really, but this is the very first time I've ever seen what is apparently called a moonbow, inspite of, over the years, spending a good deal of time outdoors after dark . The photo is a googled one but the beam looks exactly like the one I saw.

It got me wondering just how common or otherwise these things are and how often other people see them.

 

Comments

[julia-here.livejournal.com]

Wow.

I haven't seen one since I was a young child; that was in late winter, and the air was full of ice particles. We were heading home one evening and my parents stopped the truck and had us all get out so we could see it unimpeded by the windshield.

Julia, they were not much for "but it's cold as an excuse.

[inzilbeth-liz.livejournal.com]

Now I'm really getting to be convinced they must be a rare sight if you've only ever seen one. I would have liked to stop and just enjoyed it for a bit but time was pressing [isn't it always!]