Yep. It's true. They really do happen. The process is exactly the same as rainbows created by the sun. Molly saw it the other day....From: mollyRainbows happen when light is refracted. You can do it yourself with a prism or a crystal. The atmosphere does it by using water vapor (or raindrops) in the air. Both processes, crystals or water, bend the light and separate it into its component parts. We see the spectrum in a ring around the sun and call it a rainbow. Since we usually only see part of the ring, it looks like an arc across the sky.
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 10:07 PM
To: WCMH Weather
Subject: rainbow orb near moon
Hi There! I noticed there appears to be an arc curved near the moon in the sky. I could see the color of the rainbow in it earlier and it was very vivid, just about 15 minutes ago. Now when I looked it appears to have faded some, I can't see the colors, only white. I live in Logan, Ohio, Hocking county. I don't know if you can see it up there. I have never seen anything like it.
When the moon is bright and full, its light can be refracted exactly the same way. But because the light is not as bright, the rainbow is more difficult to see... and often just looks like a grey ring around the moon.
Sometimes, the light is refracted by high, cirrus clouds around the sun or moon. When it's at exactly the right height above the horizon, we see small rainbow patches on either side of the sun (or moon). Those colorful patches are called "sun dogs" or "moon dogs."
AMS Glossary of Meteorology definition of Parhelion (Sun Dogs)
AMS Glossary of Meteorology definition of Lunar Rainbow
Wikipedia Entry on Moon Dogs
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