This evening I was watching the clouds, fascinated to see at least three layers all moving in different directions. Then, for about two minutes, a rainbow appeared. It was circular, forming about 25% of a circle. It seemed to be in one of the higher layers of cloud. But there was no rain. It was a bright evening.
How did this happen?
2007-07-17 07:17:17 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
There are a number of causes of colours in the sky. A rainbow requires rain to be falling in front of you, the sun to be behind you and not higher than 42° above the horizon.
A halo is one of a number of phenomena caused by the refraction of sunlight (or moonlight) through ice crystals in a veil of cirrostratus cloud across the sky. The 22° halo, a ring round the sun or the moon, is the most common. Look here for examples:
http://www.meteoros.de/haloe.htm
A corona is caused by diffraction of sunlight (or moonlight) by water droplets in altocumulus cloud. there are examples of coronae here:
http://www.meteoros.de/kranz/kranze.htm
Irisation or iridescence is a form of the corona that produces patches of colour on the edges of clouds. Examples here:
http://www.meteoros.de/iris/irise.htm
2007-07-17 12:04:05 · answer #1 · answered by tentofield 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All it takes is droplets of water in the right direction lit by the sun. You can sometimes see completely circular rainbows when looking down on clouds from a plane.
It could have been rain, but too far off to fall on you.
Rainbows can also be seen in dew or raindrops on plants -- when sometimes you can see the different brilliant colours in the individual drops, and in the spray from a garden hose.
The direction of water-droplet rainbows is always the same -- a circle around the shadow of your head. "Normal" rainbows are just the upper bit of this circle.
Some clouds would not work -- some are ice crystals, not water droplets. Ice clouds can make spectral colours, but they are not circular, they are splashes or glints.
2007-07-17 08:08:48 · answer #2 · answered by richard_new_forester 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, a rainbow forms when the sun hits the raindrops at a certain angle. Therefore a rainbow does not occur everytime it rains.
2016-04-01 08:54:08 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
u need rain to see a rainbow because the light particles from the sun are reflected so that u see all the colours.
this is because the rain reflects the light which is white into the colours because all the colours have different speeds and density.
2007-07-18 05:28:14 · answer #4 · answered by Chris S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A light mist, Tiny water particals in the air refracting light
2007-07-17 13:48:00 · answer #5 · answered by kali_blue_sea 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think I know what you mean. I saw some rainbows too. But some of the rainbows I saw were in an area where it was sunny, cloudy, but not rainy.
2007-07-17 12:25:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just the refraction of light on droplets of moisture in the air!!! Also there the ones that defo have the pot of gold at the base of them, get oot there and get digging!!!
2007-07-17 10:31:54 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rain probably did fall a few miles away.
2007-07-18 01:47:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
water droplets high up but not reaching the ground possibly because of an up draft or it may have been rain falling some distance away but not on you but judging by the discription I would go for the first one
2007-07-17 07:21:47 · answer #9 · answered by Chris CB 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
It doesn't need to be raining, if there in sunlight and if the weather is moist there will be a rainbow.
2007-07-17 07:24:42 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋