Moonbows

A moonbow is a rainbow that happens at night. Instead of sunlight, it is made by light from the moon. Moonbows are very hard to see because moonlight is much weaker than sunlight. They often look white or pale, but cameras can capture their colors.

How Moonbows Form

Moonbows form like regular rainbows. Light shines into water drops in the air and bends into colors. But moonlight is just sunlight bouncing off the moon. Because it is so much dimmer, our eyes can't see all the colors. A moonbow often looks like a ghostly white arch in the dark sky.

Where to See Moonbows

Moonbows are very rare, but some places are famous for them. Cumberland Falls in Kentucky has moonbows on nights when the moon is full. Victoria Falls in Africa is another spot where people see them. You need a bright moon, a clear sky, and water in the air. Waterfalls and rain showers are great places to look.

Fun Facts

• Moonbows are sometimes called lunar rainbows.
• You can only see a moonbow when the moon is nearly full.
• The writer Aristotle wrote about moonbows over 2,000 years ago.

Did You Know?

If you take a picture of a moonbow with a long camera exposure, you can see all the rainbow colors that are too faint for human eyes to see.