Rainbows

6 Fascinating Facts About Rainbows You Probably Never Knew

Rainbows are among the most magical – and fascinating – phenomenon that occurs in nature. No matter your age, it’s hard to look at a rainbow and not feel that sense of awe and wonder that you only get when you get to witness something truly special.

Rainbows have been considered good omens for thousands of years, and while there’s nothing wrong with hoping for a little luck at the sight of a rainbow, there’s some hard rainbow science that’s worth investigating, too!

1. You can never get to the end of a rainbow

If you’re the type who goes hunting for a pot of gold every time you see a rainbow, we can save you some trouble: you can never actually get to the end of a rainbow! Because a rainbow is based on the orientation of the observer (you) and the light source (the sun), when you move, the rainbow will move, too.

2. You can see a circular rainbow from the sky

While you’re on the ground, you can only observe the classic semi-circular rainbow (hence the word ‘bow’). However, when you’re flying in an airplane and looking down below, you can actually see a rainbow as a complete circle!

3. You are less likely to see a rainbow in the winter

Because of snow! In the winter months, temperatures in the upper atmosphere drop to freezing, causing the raindrops to freeze into snow. This blocks the light from passing through the drop (or the snowflake) and prevents the appearance of a rainbow.

4. A double rainbow appears when light is reflected twice in a raindrop

A double rainbow occurs when the light is reflected twice in the raindrop, and thus, you can see two distinct reflections that are coming from two different angles.

Next time you happen to see this super cool occurrence for yourself, take note of this fact about double rainbows: the secondary rainbow – which will be a little bit higher and fainter in color than the primary rainbow – will actually have its colors reversed. Instead of the standard “Roy G. Biv” (for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), you’ll see the colors as Vib G. Yor!

5. Earth is the only planet in the solar system with rainbows

Earth is the only planet in our solar system capable of creating rainbows – so far as we know. That’s because Earth is the only planet with consistent liquid precipitation and direct sunlight.

6. No two people see the exact same rainbow

That’s because a rainbow is a purely optical phenomenon, its precise shape, arc, and the width of its color bands – will be slightly different according to the eye of the beholder.

That means there’s one more amazing fact about rainbows we could add to the list: every rainbow is unique to you!