Somewhere, under a moonbow

In N-photo 89, on the Social Club page, there is a photo of a rainbow in front of a waterfall from Charles Phillips. My understanding is that these are created up in the atmosphere and follow the Earth’s curvature. I have never seen one that comes down in front of the horizon, which leads me to believe that the photo is a composite and not as portrayed.

I do enjoy reading the magazine and think it is an interesting read, so please keep up the good work. Hopefully time will let me catch up with issue 90 before 91 is out. Edward Walker

we’re no meteorologists, but hope a short description will help explain how this sort of shot might come about. rainbows form when light enters water molecules, reflect off the back of the water droplets and then refract (bend/spread) through the water, which then leaves the molecule to reach our eyes (or image sensor).

rainbows, in the traditional sense, are only seen at the anti-solar point, that is, the point opposite the sun. since this photo was taken at night, the moon is what’s providing the light source for the rainbow, and the source of the water molecules are provided by the waterfall in the background. As the light from the moon hits the spray from the waterfall, the light is spread out and reflected back to the photographer, where he sees it as a beautiful ‘rainbow’ – or moonbow.

interestingly, you can see rainbows at any angle from any altitude, so long as there’s a bright enough light source and water molecules to reflect and refract the light. when you’re flying on a plane, you can look down towards the ground to see fully circular rainbows, known as ‘glorys’, and ‘fog bows’ are even visible when there’s low-lying fog or mist of the right density.