Friday, July 18, 2008

Cumberland Gap Greetings

Hey ya'll from Cumberland Gap, KY...more specifically, B'ville. Having a great time here visiting Jen, Gabe & Gabi - friends we made while living in Germany. The girls have had a blast playing dressup, chasing the kitty & swimming! Water park fun in the day & later on we went to a Front Porch Pickin session on the courthouse steps - loved it!
Upcoming Performances!
Later that night, we took a drive up to Corbin, KY to see the Moonbow at Cumberland Falls. This phenomena occurs as the mist rises from the river in the light of a full moon. Very cool!! Thinking I might need to see these wondrous falls in the daylight. My camera isn't equipped to capture the glory of this lunar rainbow, so I've borrowed one along with some info about this rarity from the KY parks department & wikipedia with special thanks.
A moonbow (also known as a lunar rainbow, lunar bow or white rainbow) is a rainbow produced by the moon rather than the sun. Moonbows are relatively faint, due to the smaller amount of light from the Moon. They are always in the opposite part of the sky from the moon. It is difficult to discern colours in a moonbow because the light is usually too faint to excite the cone colour receptors in our eyes. As a result, they often appear to be white. However, the colours in a moonbow do appear in long exposure photographs. Moonbows are most easily viewed when the moon is near to full (when it is brightest). For other than those produced by waterfalls, the moon must be low in the sky (less than 42 degrees and preferably lower) and the sky must be dark. And of course there must be rain falling opposite the moon. This combination of requirements makes moonbows much more rare than rainbows produced by the sun.
Later on today, we're saying "bis spater" to the Andersons & heading west to the 2008 Annual 510 N West End Blvd Roommate Reunion in Madisonville, KY. Can't wait!

5 comments:

Dutchnic said...

How cool, about your car.
Looks like a lot of fun. What a beautiful picture! What is Front Porch Pickin?

Carol Connell said...

Kentucky is a beautiful state. Glad you're having a good time there. That would be so cool to see a moonbeam, like the one in the picture. Y'all come back to Chicago now, ya hear! LOL

Unknown said...

You just wanted an excuse to "moon" your readers. ;)

Glad you're enjoying the trip. Can't wait to see more pics.

Randy Beal said...

Sounds like a good time for you both so far. Lunar rainbow, that's a cool picture. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

Forgetfulone said...

That front porch looks sooooo relaxing! Love the info on the moonbow as well as the photo.