RAINBOWS AT NIGHT: "Last night I went outside hoping to photograph some noctilucent clouds. Instead, I was treated to a very rare phenomenon--a rainbow at night," says Martin McKenna of Maghera, Northern Ireland. "It was visible to the naked eye with colors as obvious as any daytime 'bow."
Usually, rainbows appear when sunlight hits falling rain. There's no sunlight after dark, but in this case none was needed: "The full Moon was very bright and it illuminated a frontal system bringing in heavy showers, producing the best moonbows I've ever seen. They sported supernumeray arcs and even secondary bows. Taking pictures in the rain was difficult but I managed to get many images. A few passing cars obliged me with some nice trails."