Fire Rainbow?

ranjones1 · Post by **ranjones1** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:21 pm

Today, April Fool's Day, I got an email asking me if I've "ever seen a fire rainbow". This is supposedly the "rarest of all naturally occurring atmospheric phenomena".

Is there such a thing? Google "fire rainbow" for urban legends info. Only Snopes mentions it, and says it's true, but I can't find any scientific reference to it.

--Randy Jones

Strider2k · Post by **Strider2k** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 4:53 pm

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/stellar/scenes/aop_e/cha0422.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumhorizontal_arc

Thats the correct term for it, Circumhorizontal Arc. Theres some info for ya.

ranjones1 · Post by **ranjones1** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:20 pm

Thanx. That answers my question.

FieryIce · Post by **FieryIce** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:25 pm

You might find this thread interesting:
Submit Pictures to APOD, Circumhorizontal Arc (Fire Rainbow)

What the heck is "Snopes"?

ranjones1 · Post by **ranjones1** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:54 pm

Thanx, FieryIce, for the link.
"Snopes" is short for http://snopes.com -- a pop-up-packed urban legends website.

BMAONE23 · Post by **BMAONE23** » Thu May 03, 2007 4:58 pm

thanks for the warning about snopes. I can't stand Pop-ups

craterchains · Post by **craterchains** » Sat May 05, 2007 2:35 pm

Also look it up on the EPOD site (Earth Picture Of the Day)

http://epod.usra.edu/

I'll try and find the one that was sent to us a few years ago when they first started to appear around the earth. Yes, they are a NEW anomolie.

craterchains · Post by **craterchains** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 4:39 pm

Here it is, , ,

craterchains · Post by **craterchains** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:53 pm

, , , and then there is this one of a full circle and a second below it!?!?!

That is the first double fire rainbow I have seen of this type.

zeilouz · Post by **zeilouz** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:55 am

btw..whats the cause of the rainbow to become so circle like dat..?

craterchains · Post by **craterchains** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:13 pm

ice or water

zeilouz · Post by **zeilouz** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:06 pm

I have seen the rainbow too at my school recently,

But surely i think it is from water,

When the day rains n suddenly it becomes hot n shiny,there would be rainbow,but,how to explain a circle rainbow,like the one in the picture?

BMAONE23 · Post by **BMAONE23** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:12 pm

zeilouz wrote:I have seen the rainbow too at my school recently,

But surely i think it is from water,

When the day rains n suddenly it becomes hot n shiny,there would be rainbow,but,how to explain a circle rainbow,like the one in the picture?

When the sun shines through a sheet of floating ice particles in the high atmosphere, thE crystals act as tiny prisms and refract the light. Much as a rainbow is only visible at a certain arc and opposite the sun (52deg?), the circular form is also bent in an arc but the anomoly occurs around the sun (or moon) like sundogs. The degree of arc is determined by the angle of refraction and your point of view

zeilouz · Post by **zeilouz** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:19 pm

O.O..

So,from the ice prisms,when the light shines through it,it will show all the seven colours of a rainbow n forms a circular rainbow from different angles of the ice prism?

thx for ur explanation..!

craterchains · Post by **craterchains** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 1:05 pm

You could try to do some research for yourself, , ,

Try here for some more about such things.
http://epod.usra.edu/

zeilouz · Post by **zeilouz** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:04 am

Hmm,i think its one of the greenhouse effect,it causes the atmosphere of our earth changes suddenly..