On a recent trip from Kentucky back to Tennessee, I captured a photo of a faint rainbow I thought was so remarkable because it was between two storms with darkened clouds on one end and a bright light at the other....possibly the light of hope? Since I was a kid, we would get so excited when we spotted a rainbow in the sky. Besides being pretty, there is a lot to know about these wonders, so I copied some fun facts from yahoo below.
Water Makes Rainbows Happen
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 — which could explain why we've never found that pot of gold. 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. Lucky us!
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 rainbow over rolling landscape
Alessandro Blasi/ 500px Prime via Getty Images
There's an old YouTube video with a guy crying about a double rainbow and asking what it means, so we're happy to answer the question. It means that light is reflected twice! Double rainbows are more common than you might 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.
There Are Lunar Rainbows
The sun creates lots of rainbows, but occasionally, the moon does, too. It's called a moonbow. A moonbow occurs when the light of the moon is reflected off of rain. To have a moonbow, you need a dark night coupled with a bright moon, so they are pretty rare.
A Rainbow Is Always Unique
A rainbow is the reflection and refraction of light. Your eyes perceive light. So, what a rainbow looks like is different for everyone. The rainbow you see and the one your friend sees are different because your eyes see them differently.
You Can Make Your Own Rainbow
Rainbows need water droplets and sun. So, you can create a rainbow in your backyard on a sunny day. Stand with the sun behind you and spray the hose in front of you. Watch for the rainbow. It's an easy science experiment to do on a summer day.
Isaac Newton Used a Prism to Prove Rainbows Had Seven Colors
Isaac Newton loved experiments. During an experiment with prisms, he discovered that a rainbow had several colors in it (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). Since these are the only colors the human eye can see, they are the colors that make up the rainbow.
The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow Comes From Irish Mytholog
Christians Believe Rainbows Are a Sign of God's Promise
The rainbow is such a unique feature of Earth; it has made its way into biblical facts. In the Bible, the rainbow is a promise between God and man. The rainbow is the promise that God will not use water to destroy all life again.
It's a Symbol of Hope in Art
Rainbows have been featured in paintings for centuries. Oftentimes, artists use a rainbow as a symbol of hope.
