Want to catch a glimpse of a moonbow in KY this spring? These dates are your best shot
Next month’s total solar eclipse isn’t the only celestial wonder you can spot in Kentucky’s skies this spring.
Compared to a total solar eclipse, the lunar rainbows that occur over Cumberland Falls State Resort Park happen much more often; so much so the park puts out a list of dates to catch it.
Here’s what to know about this magical moonlight phenomenon and what you can do to have the best shot at seeing one.
What is a moonbow?
Like conventional rainbows, lunar rainbows occur when moonlight refracts through water droplets in the air, forming a spectrum of colors. Lunar rainbows, or moonbows, are colored like their daytime counterparts, though they are typically much harder to see given they happen at night.
According to Astronomy magazine, the moon is only really bright enough to cast visible moonbows when it is full. Even then, you can only catch them for about three days around the full moon.
To get a good look, you’ll also have to time it right by catching a dark sky just after sunset. Given all the factors that have to line up just right, it’s little wonder Astronomy magazine notes moonbows occur less than 10% as often as conventional rainbows, and those don’t happen all the time either.
Luckily, if you’re patient and willing to make multiple attempts, you have a better chance of catching a moonbow in Kentucky.
What’s special about the one you can see in Kentucky?
While you can get really lucky and happen upon a moonbow anywhere under the right conditions, there are only a few places where you can regularly see them.
Moonbows used to regularly occur at Niagara Falls on the border of New York state and Canada, but the light pollution from nearby Buffalo obscures them now. Moonbows have also been known to occur over Yosemite Falls in California’s Yosemite National Park. However, the falls, fed by melted snow, are only at their peak in late spring and dry up in the summer before the arrival of fall storms, which replenishes the snow.
If you’re willing to look outside of the U.S. for moonbows, you can try your luck at Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia or Zimbabwe in the southern half of the African continent.
For most Kentuckians though, the regular moonbows at Cumberland Falls near Corbin are going to be the most convenient option.
Here, moonbows occur often enough Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is able to issue a list of dates as to when you’ll have the best chance of catching one.
When to see a moonbow at Cumberland Falls in 2024
The next opportunity to glimpse a moonbow comes at the end of this month in time for the full moon March 25.
According to this list of dates on the park’s Facebook page, these are the ideal viewing dates and times for the month of March:
March 23: 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
March 24: 9:30 to 11:30 p.m.
March 25: 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
March 26: 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
March 27: 12:30 to 2:30 a.m.
Other dates continue throughout the year in 2024, coinciding around each month’s full moon.
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