The moonbow is a rainbow-like phenomenon that can be viewed at only two places in the world. The two places are Cumberland Falls State Park and the other is Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls is located in southern Africa between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The pre-requisites of moonbow are “full moon” and “clear sky” otherwise moonbow is either not formed or can not be seen.
Both rainbow and moonbow have the same ingredients which are required for their formation e.g. water droplets and falling of light at a certain angle. Like rainbow, moonbow can not be formed without water droplets through which the light rays are diverged in to multi-colored bow. That’s why the moonbow can be seen only at two places where moonlight passes though the misty water vapors or droplets.
The moonbow at Cumberland Falls which is also known as the “Niagara of the South” generates the moonbow due to its 125 feet water curtain. In commemoration of Kentucky Parks and the moonbow phenomenon, the postal service issued a stamp showing the moonbow and Cumberland Falls. The envelop contains the wordings: “the only “rainbow at night” in the Western Hemisphere”. The stamp and envelop is designed by the famous artist Ralph Bergmann. The envelop has the picture containing aerial view of Cumberland Falls.
At this event of annual celebration, more than hundred visitors, postal service staff members and other officials were present. Quite recently, (on December 1, 2009) a girl Jessi and her father have posted a recent picture of the moonbow which they observed at Virginia Beach, VA. She saw and her father took the pictures of the “moonbow rings”. The pictures are available on the net.
Moonbow
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