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Credit & Copyright: Colin Leonhardt
(Birdseye View Photography)
Explanation:
Have you ever seen an entire rainbow?
From the ground, typically, only the top portion of a rainbow is visible because directions toward the ground have fewer raindrops.
From the air, though, the entire 360 degree circle of a
rainbow is more commonly visible.
Pictured here,
a full circle rainbow was captured over
Cottesloe Beach near
Perth,
Australia
last year by a helicopter flying between a setting sun and a downpour.
An observer-dependent
phenomenon
primarily caused by the
internal reflection
of sunlight by raindrops, the 84-degree diameter rainbow
followed the helicopter, intact, for about 5 kilometers.
As a bonus,
a second rainbow
that was more faint and color-reversed was visible outside the first.
APOD Astrophotographers:
Has your work ever been used for scientific discovery?
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: rainbow
Publications with words: rainbow
See also: