@Night: Maui: Magical Night Time Rainbow !!!

On the last night before leaving Maui (March 28th), I was on the balcony of the condo on the 9th floor, taking photos of the the constellations over the Pacific. After I took my first shot,  as usual, I zoomed in to the photo to check if the focus is OK. To my utter shock, I noticed a small arc of a rainbow in the photo. I looked up at the western horizon and was able to see a very faint rainbow. To the naked eye, it was visible as a white arc. Of course, a digital camera's powerful sensor can "see" and record more colors.

The previous day was full moon day and the moon was shining brilliantly! It was drizzling very lightly on and off and has created the perfect conditions for the nighttime rainbow (aka, Moonbow or Lunar Rainbow). From 9:20 pm to 11 pm, the rainbow was very active, disappearing briefly and appearing again shortly. As the Moonbow got stronger and stronger, we were clearly able to see the colors and even the secondary rainbow. All of us stayed on our balcony screaming and yelling with joy to watch this "first-in-our-lifetime" phenomenon!!!

Swetha did some on the spot google research and we learned that the following 3 conditions must be met for a Moonbow to form:
1) The moon has to be close to full moon ( + or - 2 days).
2) The moon must not be at greater than 42 degrees from the horizon.
3) It must be raining or drizzling (of course).

On top of this,  for the secondary rainbow to occur, it requires a double reflection of the light in the water droplets.  Looks like, this is a very rare phenomenon. In all of the photos, the lights you see close to the horizon are from the island of Molokai which is next to the Maui island.

This is before the Moonbow started. The bright object is Jupiter which is in the constellation Taurus.
The bright star to the left of Jupiter is Aldebaran (Taurus).
The small cluster of stars below and right of Jupiter is Pleiades.
The pentagon shaped constellation at the center top is Auriga.
Below Auriga, constellation Perseus is partially visible.

The V shaped stars to the left of Jupiter are part of the constellation Taurus.

The secondary Moonbow is very lightly visible above the bright primary Moonbow.

The clouds blocked the stars. Palm trees in the foreground.

The universe is an intelligent and brilliant entertainer. Every day/night something mystical and magical is going on up in the sky. All it takes is a little passion and interest to enjoy these free shows :)) There are more chances of you seeing a Moonbow if you are in Hawaii or in UK (where it rains almost everyday and there is a high probability of raining around the full moon day).

No wonder that the car registration plates in Hawaii  have a rainbow :))

In addition to all the other well known natural wonders of Hawaii, enjoying the Moonbow is yet another reason to visit Hawaii again and again and again :))

@Night: PanSTARRS on March 13th.

This is the first time Comet PanSTARRS is visiting the Solar System and it is not going to come back for another 100,000 years!  Since I don't know where I will be 100,000 years from now, I am enjoying it as much as I can! Today, Sheila, Swetha and Shreya joined me in watching PanSTARRS from Poway Road.  For Swetha and Shreya, this is the first Comet they are seeing :))

Previous posts:

               Comet PanSTARRS on March 12th.

@Night: Comet PanSTARRS - வால் நட்சத்திரம்!

For the last 3 days, I have been chasing the Comet, PanSTARRS! The challenge with this comet is that it stays pretty close to the western horizon, doesn't rise too high in the sky and sets quickly.

3 frustrating days:
Saturday:  @Torrey Pines beach (since I have a clear view of the western horizon). Couldn't spot the comet.
Sunday: @Torrey Pines beach:  Marine layer rolled in right after sunset.
Monday: After work, stopped at Torrey Pines beach only to watch a thick band of dark clouds :(

Today evening,  headed to a mountain top in the neighboring town, Poway and got lucky. The beautiful, young, 2 days old crescent moon (இளைய நிலா), finally showed me the way to the comet :))

Black Mountain and the city of Poway. Taken from Poway Road, closer to Iron Mountain.

This comet brought back memories of Comet Hale-Bopp which showed up when Swetha was born ('97) and another Comet (with multiple tails) in 1970's, I have watched  from home as a little kido :))

Expect to see more of Comet  PanSTARRS photos in this blog as well as the Comet ISON coming up in November :))  Looks like, 2013 is the year of Asteroids and Comets!!!

@Night: Oceanside Pier

Oceanside is a beautiful California coastal town 40 minutes drive from home. It has a long pier with a restaurant at the end of the pier. We love to go there often to watch sunsets. The Sun had just set to the right of the pier; Swetha and Shreya were plying with their cousins Siona and Rishi on New Years Day, 2012!