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Rare moonbows seen over the Highlands

News imageRaddery Snapper/BBC Weather Watchers MoonbowRaddery Snapper/BBC Weather Watchers
A moonbow seen from Fortrose on the Black Isle

Moonbows could be seen from parts of the Highlands on Thursday night.

The optical phenomenon is caused when moonlight is refracted through water droplets in the air.

Moonbows, also known as lunar rainbows, are faint and very rarely seen, according to the Met Office.

News imageRuth Bradstreet MoonbowRuth Bradstreet
Dores on the shores of Loch Ness also had good views of the lunar rainbow
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A picture of the optical phenomenon taken from Inverness
News imageAbriachan View/BBC Weather Watchers MoonbowAbriachan View/BBC Weather Watchers
Abriachan in the hills above Loch Ness was another vantage point for moonbow sightings
News imageEilidh MacDonald MoonbowEilidh MacDonald
A lunar rainbow over Alness in Easter Ross
News imageRNLI Loch Ness MoonbowRNLI Loch Ness
RNLI Loch Ness, stationed near Drumnadrochit, asked what might lie at the end of a lunar rainbow
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