Rare 'moonbow' spotted in night sky over Bridgnorth
A rare 'moonbow' was snapped in the Shropshire skies this week.
The unusual phenomenon appeared over Low Town, Bridgnorth, on Tuesday night and was photographed by town resident Abby Bristow.
Abby noticed the moonbow, or moon rainbow, at 6.55pm on Tuesday from Morfe Road.
"I saw it and just thought 'oh my goodness'," she said. "It was so amazing, it was so beautiful.
"I posted it on social media and my sister called to say it was called a moonbow.
"I hope people get as much joy out of seeing it as I did!"
What is a moonbow?
A moonbow, also known as a lunar rainbow, is a rainbow that is created by moonlight rather than sunlight.
It is produced in much the same way that solar rainbows are, caused by the refraction of light in water droplets - like spray, fog or mist.
Moonbows are much fainter than their solar siblings, due to the smaller amount of light the moon reflects.
They are therefore harder to see, while the human eye struggles to discern the colours so they often appear white.
Moonbows are easiest to spot when the moon is at, or nearest to, its brightest phase and low in the sky.
They are most often spotted two to three hours before a sunrise, or two to three hours after sunset.
