By LAUREN N. LAUGHLIN
Special to the PRESS
On Sunday, Oct. 9, the Rio Grande Valley inhabitants were treated to a very rare natural optical illusion, a moonbow. The phenomenon could be seen starting around 10 p.m. and lasted into early Monday morning.
Katie Mollo, a South Padre Islander said, “It was so cool, I went out walking my neighbor’s dog, looked up and saw a shining circle around the moon, I wasn’t sure if it was just me, so I called my friend out to see it, too.”
A moonbow, also known as a lunar rainbow, lunar bow or white rainbow, is a rainbow produced by light reflected off the surface of the moon rather than from direct sunlight. Moonbows are normally relatively faint, due to the smaller amount of light reflected from the surface of the moon, but the one above the Valley was very prominent to the human eye.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the Oct. 10 edition of the Port Isabel South Padre Press or check out our E-edition by clicking here.
A moonbow was seen around the full moon on Sunday night, causing locals to stand and stare at the rare ring of light reflected from the moon. (Courtesy photo)
