Northern Lights Chasers Captured A Rare Moonbow Alongside The Aurora In Canada

It's like a rainbow but at night.
Senior Writer

This is spectacular! A rare moonbow in Alberta was spotted in the night sky alongside the northern lights.

Dar Tanner, a northern lights chaser, captured an incredible photo of a moonbow over Alberta near the end of September.

It's a phenomenon that's rarely seen and this cosmic combo was made even more unique because of the aurora that was dancing around it.

Dar told Narcity that this is a one in a million photo.

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Dar and Theresa Tanner were chasing the aurora in central Alberta on September 27.

Clouds were rolling in that night so the pair drove 100 kilometres away to outrun them. 

That's when they noticed the brilliant moonbow in the sky and Dar snapped a photo.

Then it got even more amazing when the aurora moved and danced right through the phenomenon.

Both of them started taking pictures of the rarity. 

"Our minds were blown," Dar said.

They've been looking for one for the eight years they've been chasing the northern lights from Yellowknife all the way to Iceland.

According to The Weather Network, a moonbow is basically a lunar rainbow that's seen at night.

It happens when the light from the moon goes through droplets of water.

Earlier this year, a Canadian photographer captured another breathtaking astronomical combo, the aurora and comet NEOWISE.

Canada has so many perfect places to see the northern lights and while you probably won't see a moonbow, the sight will still be spectacular.

  • Senior Writer

    Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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