A rare “moon rainbow” made a surprise appearance over Vancouver Island last week, lighting up the night sky in the Cowichan Valley.
It happened between 9 and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 6th, when Shawnigan Lake resident Kelsea Hamilton stepped outside to let her dogs out and noticed something strange glowing in the misty darkness.
“I had just taken the dogs out to pee and looked up and saw it with my eyes,” Kelsea told Victoria Buzz.
“The moon was up bright behind me but ahead of me where I was looking was the rainbow. It was misty rain and wind. I actually had no idea what I was looking at because it was pitch black out besides the moonlight and I’d never seen anything like it.”
She snapped a couple of photos and later realized she had captured a moonbow—a natural phenomenon that happens when moonlight rather than sunlight refracts through water droplets in the air.
What exactly is a moonbow?
Moonbows, also called lunar rainbows, occur under very specific conditions.
The moon must be nearly full and shining brightly, rain or mist has to be falling opposite the moon, and the sky needs to be dark enough for the faint light to show.
Because moonlight is so much weaker than sunlight, these night-time rainbows are often colourless to the naked eye, appearing white or silver instead.
They’re considered rare, especially on Vancouver Island where timing, weather, and moonlight have to align just right.
For Kelsea, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
“I was surprised it even showed up on camera and you can actually see all the stars in the photos as well,” she said.
Whether you call it a moonbow, a lunar rainbow, or just a touch of magic in the night sky, it’s a reminder to look up once in a while, you never know what you might catch.
