Thursday, August 11, 2011

Moonbows in Waterfalls

Not all rainbows occur on rainy days. Rainbows can also form in the mist at the base of waterfalls, such as those  at Yosemite Park in California. They occur not only in the daytime, but also at night, with a full moon at your back.


Nocturnal rainbows form in the same way as daytime rainbows: by means of light reflecting and refracting in droplets of water. At night they’re sometimes called “lunar rainbows” or “moonbows.” In this time lapse video, look for the reversed secondary rainbows at 2:40 and 3:00.

Direct link to “Yosemite Nature Notes’ video.
The Nature of Light and Colour in the Open Air (Dover Books on Earth Sciences)
Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
Thanks, David
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5 comments:

  1. DomAugust 11, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    Just wanted to let you know that I'm a new fan of this blog. It's amazing. Please keep up the good work. I'll be watching. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 11, 2011 at 5:15 PM

    There must be quite a few of leprechauns and pots of gold up there

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  3. UnknownAugust 11, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    Gorgeous! Nature never ceases to amaze.

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  4. Ben ValentineAugust 11, 2011 at 9:30 PM

    The movement of the time-lapsed rainbow seems to coincide with the movement of the Moon? How interesting

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  5. James GurneyAugust 12, 2011 at 10:38 AM

    Thanks, Dom.

    Ben, yes, the rainbow is centered around the "antisolar" or in this case, the "antilunar" point, the point opposite the moving moon.

    ReplyDelete

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