Evening star., 1898-08-06
4 l. UN AR RAJ N B 0 w
An Interesting Phenomenon Witnessed Last
Monday Night
A Rare Occurrence and Probably bnt
Few Actually Obscrv-
ed 1t.


Written for The Evening Star
Last Monday evening everybody that
could get out of doors was out trying 10
get relief from the torrid heat, and as the
earth was a source of radiation, the SKY
was much more attractive, with the moon
brilliant and cool-looking; but it is probable
that only a small proportion-possibly noI
mere than an average of one in every nun
,ired of the thousands of people in WASH
ington-saw the very unusual and interest
irg phenomenon-a lunar rainbow. that ap-
feared in the heavens from little after y
o clock until long after 1o.
Everybody has, of course, often seen
halos or colored rings around the moon.
They appear between us and that iuminary
and are, according to their contracted or
their expanded condition, considered as
signs of approaching rain or OIL cry Weath-
er; but the rainbow, though produced as
the halo is, by refraction and reflection OF
light, is on the opposite side Of US from the
source of this light and is of much more
rare occurrence. 1t also is OF much greater
beauty than the commoner phenomenon
and its rarity must be accounted Tor upon
the same theory of unknown causes that
produce the finest things. with which we
are familiar in relation to all the affairs OF
life. The writer had never before but once
in his life seen rainbow at night, and of
the three other persons to whose attention
he called it and who observed it with him
none had ever seen one before.
The moon, at her best. being full at half
past IL thai night. was high in the south
east and the only clouds visible in her
neighborhood were scarcely thick enough
to conceal her outline as they scud1ed
across her face. Low in the northwest
there was heavy bank of dark clouds,
that did not even give the usual summer
night sheen of heat lightning or show
the effects of an electrical storm that might
have been expected from the ugly mood
hot /
these and rearing its arch well up among
the peaks of their Jagged edge that this
dainty, timid creature of ETHEREAL beauty
was pictured, wasting its charms on an
unappreciating world that m ght have
been delighted with its silent radiance but
for the accident that never happened to
lead tneir eyes in its direction At times 1t
was very faint and may have been over
looked by many whose glance readily de-
tected the clouds IN its background; and
IL the sky behind 1t had been clear the
contrast would scarcely have been strong
enough to render he rainbow visible ex-
cept to an eye making special search for
II.
AT first only short section of the arc
was perceptible. 1t crept cautiously up
from the westward, feeling its way, as il
afraid of being frightened back into the
depths of darkness from which it seemed
to come and If taking time to build its
web of gauZy light into the circle preScrib-
ed for 1t by the round orb Of its origin.
Then. growing bolder, 1t climbed upward
and upward until about three-quarters of
the whole arc it could have made appeared
quite distinctly.
1t was difficult to distinguish the colors
that we know always appear in the suns
rainbows, and We must take 1t for granted
that they were there. as the light by which
they were made was simply that of the
sun coming to them by a round about way
1t seemed. that violet was the predominant
ing hue, and that that color was the one
on the upper outer side of the arc a con-
dition which. II true, would apparently in
dicate that the bow observed by the-writer
was a secondary one, as In the primary