Celebrate Summer with a Moonbow!

Now that summer is upon us, everyone is out scrambling to find that perfect vacation spot or a way to make sure that this summer is much more memorable than all the others.

If you're looking for a truly memorable summer trip, follow the other thousands of citizens that have traveled to Cumberland Falls, KY to see the famous moonbow.

What exactly is a moonbow?

I'm sure by now you're asking what exactly a moonbow is anyway. Well, basically, a moonbow is a rainbow that takes place at night. The mist from the falls reflects the moonlight in such a way that it creates a sort of night rainbow that is called a moonbow.

Why should I go see this moonbow anyway?

Well, for one, it's really a great experience. It may not seem so thrilling to sit out until about midnight or one o'clock just to see a rainbow at night, but it's really a beautiful sight. Not to mention that not everyone gets the chance to see something like this. It's like a meteor shower-you have to be in the right place at the right time in order to see them. Plus, since there are only a couple in the entire world, a lot of people miss out on this special experience.

So if I want to see the moonbow, how do I know when to go?

The moonbow is really only visible from about two days before to about two days after the full moon of each month, so you would have to visit during that time. I would recommend going on the day of the full moon, like we did, but it's not necessary. The only thing to keep in mind is that the night has to be clear in order to see the moonbow and overcast conditions could prevent you from getting to see it.

There are also several other conditions that need to be met in order to really see the moonbow well. For one, your observation point should be from the upper deck. Also, the best time to go is in Winter, as cold as it may be, or fall because it's drier out and the colors show up much better than in the summer. At these times, too, the moonbow can generally be seen earlier in the night than in the summer (around 8 pm versus 1 am).

Other than that, a list of dates of full moons can be found here.

What if I want to photograph the moonbow?

This is a tough one. First, you have to have a camera that has great night and picture quality. When I went to see the moonbow, my camera did not have this quality, as you can see by the accompanying pictures. I could not photograph the moonbow well because I couldn't aim the camera properly or focus in on the correct position. I did manage to get a little color on the bottom left of one picture (the rest of the picture is merely rocks), but that was luck.

There were, however, plenty of professional photographers that got some great shots there, so instead of pretending like I know how it's done I will refer you to one of their sites. This is the site that I went to in order to get advice on how to photograph the moonbow and it's really a great site. You can find it here and there are also some very helpful tips about night photography located here.

How can I learn more about the moonbow?

If you want to know more this is a really good site with links to just about anything you could possibly ever want to know about a moonbow.