How does rainbows appear in the sky?

Answer 1

Sunlight being refracted by rain.

When you see a rainbow, stand with your back to the Sun. The centre of the rainbow is in a direct line from the Sun, through you to the centre of the bow.

From that line the coloured bow is angled at 42 o (degrees).

There are seven colours; they are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and indigo. The red is always on the outside of the bow and the indigo on the inside of the bow. This is because the wavelength of red light is longer, so it is seen on the longer(outside) edge. Conversely, the wavelength of indigo light is shorter, so it is seen on the shorter(inside) of the bow.

Because of 'light bending' the outside of the red edge is darker. Conversely the inside of the indigo edge is lighter,

If the rainbow is very bright, you will see a reflected bow outside the main rainbow. In the reflected bow the colours and light bending are reversed. On the very rare ocassions you may see a triple bow, outside again, with everything revered to the original form .

In the Christian religion, the rainbow is a symbol of God's covenant with every living man and creature. (The Bible, Book of Genesis, Chapter 9. )

The old weather lore in England is if you see a rainbow in the morning it is a very reliable forecast for more rain that day. Conversely, if you see a rainbow in the evening, again it is a very reliable forecast of no more rain that day.

So there you have it , about rainbows appearing in the sky!!!!!

Answer 2

Apparently, a rainbow appears in the sky because both, rain and sun, mix together and produce light and colours. Some people belive that at the end of a rainbow is gold. But how does the gold just appear suddenly?