A hazy colourful arch appears to float between the fog and a star-studded sky in this stunning image. We've all seen rainbows emerge after a downpour but few of us will have witnessed, let alone recorded, a 'moonbow' such as this. The remarkable photograph was taken by Wally Pacholka, a renowned 'astrophotographer' as he looked over a volcanic crater on Maui Island in Hawaii.

 

The 61-year-old former accountant, who specialises in taking pictures of dramatic night skies over America's national parks, came across the sight as he stood 10,000ft above sea level on the rim of the Halkeakala crater. 'This was my seventh evening there, having hiked inside the 12 mile rim to rim crater a few days back,' he told MailOnline. 'I was very fortunate to see this, but in a way I created this fortune as I was always out there.'

 

This night-time phenomena was created not by the Sun but by light reflected off the Moon. The fog hanging above the volcano's crater acted as the white canvas. Mars can also be seen in this dazzling image, glowing orange high in the sky (top left of image).  The red planet dominated the sky at the end of January as it neared its opposition and came the closest it had been to Earth for two years.

For more information about Wally Palcholka's images visit his website at  www.AstroPics.com