Colorful Facts About Rainbows You Might Not Know
Written by Aniketh Kumar on April 25, 2023
Rainbows Form From Water
You know that light travels from the sun to the earth. But did you know that when light hits a rain droplet in the sky, it creates a rainbow? With enough rain droplets, you can see a rainbow lighting up the sky. This is why rainbows often form after a storm.
A Rainbow Has No End
Since rainbows are technically an arch of light, they don’t have an end. If you view a rainbow from an airplane in the sky, it looks like a circle of light. From land, you only see half of the rainbow’s arch.
You Can’t Touch a Rainbow
Since a rainbow is light, you can’t touch it. It’s kind of like how you can’t touch the blue in the sky. It looks pretty, but you can’t hold it in your hand.
Earth Is the Only Planet With Rainbows
What do you need to make a rainbow? Light and water, right? Since no other planets are known to have liquid water, earth is the only planet in our solar system with rainbows. How unique is earth?
Hawaii Has the Most Rainbows
If you want to see a rainbow, go to Hawaii. Hawaii is known to have the most and best rainbows on earth. This is due to the sunlight and water that are both plentiful on Hawaii’s incredible islands.
A Double Rainbow Is Light Reflected Twice
Double rainbows are magnificent and more common than you think. Light has to reflect twice to create a double rainbow. So, when the sun is low in the sky, you’ll see more double rainbows. Another cool fact: the band between the rainbows is called Alexander’s band, after Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Lunar Rainbow
The sun creates lots of rainbows, but occasionally, the moon does do. It’s called a moonbow. A moonbow occurs when the light of the moon is reflected off rain. To have a moonbow, you need a dark night coupled with a bright moon, so they are pretty rare.
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