Lunar Rainbows: The Incredible Nighttime Rainbows of Yosemite's Waterfalls

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by Mark Stephens on Wed Jul 13, 2011 - (3) Comments

Boil down the miracle of rainbows to their physical properties and you learn they're just a trick of refracting light. Yet they're still amazing to spot and behold. Tell me, who's backseat full-o-kids hasn't lit up with racket at the sight of a rainbow after a storm?

Since rainbows are nothing more than just bending light, you just need the right circumstances and you can see a rainbow almost anywhere. It doesn't always have to be after a storm.  Example? Squirt your garden hose into the air at different angles and you'll get a rainbow eventually.

Now turn your attention to the waterfalls of Yosemite Valley.

At night, during certain full moon cycles of late spring and early summer, the sunlight reflecting off of the surface of the moon is not only enough, but also at the right angle that rainbows come alive with the mist dancing off of the falls.  Yes, at night. The video here goes into more of the story and shows you some stunning timelapses.

They're on tour this whole week in Yosemite starting tonight.

www.yosemitepark.com/yosemite-moonbow.aspx
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonbow

lunar rainbows yosemite waterfalls

lunar rainbows yosemite waterfalls

lunar rainbows yosemite waterfalls

lunar rainbows yosemite waterfalls

lunar rainbows yosemite waterfalls

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Barbara Steigerwalt
+1 # Barbara Steigerwalt 2011-10-21 09:59
Recently, a grieving family saw a rainbow over the home of their grandmother, who had just passed.Later they saw a night rainbow over the house of her daughter while they were planning her services. They were thrilled!
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Mark
0 # Mark 2011-10-21 21:57
Beautiful ...
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Aime Jones
0 # Aime Jones 2012-03-25 22:39
Quoting Barbara Steigerwalt:
Recently, a grieving family saw a rainbow over the home of their grandmother, who had just passed.Later they saw a night rainbow over the house of her daughter while they were planning her services. They were thrilled!

I can fully appreciate this story as I was going through one of the darkest times of my life close to 20 years ago and I saw a most vivid & brilliantly colored double nighttime rainbow in
Hawaii. It kept me from committing the suicide I had planned for the next day. I explicitly believe it was a personal sign and message from God that I was loved.
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