rainbows | EarthSky

Here’s why rainbows have a curved or arcing shape

Rainbows have a curved shape because they're made from light reflected after hitting spherical raindrops. Learn more about rainbows here.

Double rainbow arching over a house and tree.

Climate change will produce more rainbows

Researchers from the University of Hawaii found that climate change will bring more rainbows to higher latitudes and higher elevations.

A whale at the ocean surface, with a cloud of rainbow-like light above.

Whales make rainbows

Whales are magnificent creatures and ... whales make rainbows. Photos and video here.

Low rainbow over desert landscape and saguaro cactus.

Rainbows around the world

Images of rainbows from all over the world taken by EarthSky's Facebook friends. Beautiful!

Who loves rainbows?

April showers brought these rainbows. Enjoy these awesome photos from our friends!

Triple and quadruple rainbows in 1st-ever photos

We now have the first scientifically accepted photos of triple and quadruple rainbows. For some, it's as if we've captured a picture of a real unicorn.

Yellowish mist in the foreground and grey clouds in the background. There are some mountains in the horizon.

Virga is rain that doesn’t reach the ground

Learn what virga is and how it forms, and see great photos to help you learn how to identify it yourself! Plus, learn if radar can pick up virga.

View of airplane wing over clouds. Beneath it, a small shadow of the plane with a circular rainbow around it.

Airplane glory: What is it and how to spot one?

An airplane glory is easy to see, if you watch for it. It's the plane's shadow cast on a cloud, or the ground, surrounded by a halo of light.

Big dark gray animal together with a smaller white animal in the sea.

Whales are the biggest living animals: Lifeform of the week

Whales are not just the biggest animals on the planet, they have smashed other records, too. And they way they communicate and eat ... Wow!

A fuzzy white arc in a blue sky above a bucolic scene with a red barn and a shed.

A fogbow is cousin to a rainbow

A fogbow is like a white rainbow. It's made by much the same process as rainbows but with a fog's smaller water droplets instead of larger raindrops.

Beach with building on the side and a large pink double rainbow under cloudy sky over the ocean.

A red rainbow happens when the sun is low

A red rainbow has a surreal beauty, but its explanation is fairly ordinary. It's created via the same physics that makes a sunset or sunrise looks red.

Seven vertical double, narrow lines of colorful cloud with a jet at the top of each.

Iridescent contrails? Rainbow contrails? Something else?

They look like iridescent contrails. But, are they? We asked Les Cowley, an atmospheric optics expert, who gave a different opinion.

Colorful clouds above a tree-and-snow-covered ridgeline

Iridescent clouds have rainbow colors

Clouds with rainbow colors are called iridescent clouds. The names comes from Iris, the Greek personification of the rainbow. Photos here.

Large gibbous moon, tiny red dot for Mars, ducks flying in a V, against slate-blue background.

Top 10 space objects to see during the day

Love astronomy, but don't like to stay up late? Here are the top 10 space objects you can see - under the right conditions - during the day.

Circumhorizon arc or iridescent cloud?

It's easy to confuse a circumhorizon arc with an iridescent cloud, and vice versa. Circumhorizon arcs are more commonly seen at this time of year.

sun on a blue sky with a ring of light around it, and an outstretched finger overlapping the sun itself

What makes a halo around the sun or moon?

A large ring or circle of light around the sun or moon is called a 22-degree halo. They are caused by high, thin cirrus clouds drifting high above your head.

Planet with large areas of green, teal, orange, and magenta on differently textured areas.

Pluto terrain in rainbow colors

Take a look at Pluto in this rich false-color image. The colors help to highlight the differences in the dwarf planet's terrain.

Rainbow coming out of bottom of cloud like a rainshaft.

What’s this rainbow patch in the sky?

One EarthSky reader captured a photo of a rainbow patch hanging below a cloud, looking almost like a sheet of rain. What was it?

Hazy ball of TItan with Saturn's thin rings behind.

What’s the weather like on Titan?

Most of the planets in our solar system have some sort of atmosphere and many have dynamic weather systems. But only one moon in the solar system, Saturn's large moon Titan, can say the same.

Circumhorizon arc over a ridgeline, with the sun just out of view at the top of the image.

Not a rainbow, not an iridescent cloud

There are many colored arcs in the sky. This photographer captured one commonly seen in summer, when the sun is high in the sky.

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Here’s why rainbows have a curved or arcing shape

Climate change will produce more rainbows

Whales make rainbows

Rainbows around the world

Who loves rainbows?

Triple and quadruple rainbows in 1st-ever photos

Virga is rain that doesn’t reach the ground

Airplane glory: What is it and how to spot one?

Whales are the biggest living animals: Lifeform of the week

A fogbow is cousin to a rainbow

A red rainbow happens when the sun is low

Iridescent contrails? Rainbow contrails? Something else?

Iridescent clouds have rainbow colors

Top 10 space objects to see during the day

Circumhorizon arc or iridescent cloud?

What makes a halo around the sun or moon?

Pluto terrain in rainbow colors

What’s this rainbow patch in the sky?

What’s the weather like on Titan?

Not a rainbow, not an iridescent cloud