An electron drops from higher energy to normal energy level, creating a photon during the Sun’s nuclear hydrogen fusion process. The photon makes its way out from deep in the Sun, escapes, then travels through space toward us at the speed of light. Eight-minutes thirty-seconds later it bounces off the fully illuminated Moon. Just over a second later it enters mist from Lower Yosemite Falls, currently in full Spring flow. The photon slows as it moves through the water and bends, causing refraction. The angle between the Moon behind me, mist, and my camera’s location is exactly 42-degrees. The photon splits into this spectrum upon exiting the water droplet. As the Moon rises higher above my horizon the Moonbow slowly moves down the waterfall; the show is over when that angle becomes greater than 42-degrees. Pretty cool.
This image was captured at midnight.