Science
Types of Rainbow and Sky Optics
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Updated:4/9/2026
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Type↕ | Cause↕ | Location in Sky↕ | Apparent Angle (deg)↕ | Colors↕ | Rarity↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primary Rainbow | Single internal reflection in raindrops | Opposite the sun | 42 | Red outside, violet inside | Common after rain showers |
Secondary Rainbow | Two internal reflections in raindrops | Outside primary, reversed colors | 51 | Violet outside, red inside; dimmer | Fairly common |
Supernumerary Rainbow | Interference of light in small uniform drops | Inside primary rainbow | 40 | Pastel pink and green bands | Uncommon |
Fogbow (White Rainbow) | Diffraction in tiny fog droplets | Opposite sun in fog | 40 | White with faint reddish outer edge | Uncommon |
Moonbow (Lunar Rainbow) | Refraction of moonlight in raindrops | Opposite the moon | 42 | Usually appears white to naked eye | Rare; needs bright moon |
22-degree Halo | Refraction through hexagonal ice crystals | Ring around sun or moon | 22 | White with faint red inner edge | Common in cirrus skies |
46-degree Halo | Refraction through hexagonal ice crystals | Larger ring around sun or moon | 46 | White with faint colors | Uncommon |
Sundog (Parhelion) | Refraction in flat hexagonal ice crystals | 22 degrees left and right of sun | 22 | Bright spots; red toward sun, blue away | Common in cold regions |
Glory | Backscattering by water droplets | Around shadow of head or plane | 1 | Concentric rainbow rings | Common from airplanes |
Brocken Spectre | Shadow on mist with glory rings | Opposite sun on clouds below | 2 | Gray shadow with rainbow halo | Seen on mountains |
Circumzenithal Arc | Refraction through horizontal ice plates | High in sky, centered on zenith | 58 | Vivid; red on bottom, violet on top | Uncommon but dazzling |
Circumhorizontal Arc (Fire Rainbow) | Refraction through horizontal ice plates | Low in sky, parallel to horizon | 58 | Flame-like bands of color | Rare; needs high sun |
Parhelic Circle | Reflection off vertical ice crystal faces | Horizontal band at sun's altitude | 0 | White | Uncommon |
Sun Pillar | Reflection off flat falling ice crystals | Vertical shaft above or below sun | 0 | White to reddish | Seen at sunrise/sunset |
Iridescent Cloud | Diffraction by small uniform droplets | Near the sun on thin clouds | 5 | Pastel rainbow patches | Fairly common |
Corona | Diffraction around sun or moon by droplets | Disk around sun or moon | 3 | Concentric colored rings | Common with thin clouds |
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