June 19, 2006—It looks like a rainbow that's been set on fire, but this phenomenon is as cold as ice.
Known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc, this rare sight was caught on film on June 3 as it hung over northern Idaho near the Washington State border.
The arc isn't a rainbow in the traditional sense—it is caused by light passing through wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds. The sight occurs only when the sun is very high in the sky (more than 58° above the horizon). What's more, the hexagonal ice crystals that make up cirrus clouds must be shaped like thick plates with their faces parallel to the ground.
When light enters through a vertical side face of such an ice crystal and leaves from the bottom face, it refracts, or bends, in the same way that light passes through a prism. If a cirrus's crystals are aligned just right, the whole cloud lights up in a spectrum of colors.
National Geographic
2 comments:
What a lovely start to my online day! Amazing!!
Hi Laura,
I agree the picture was breath taking. It was the last sentence that resonated a pay attention Laura theme, "If a cirrus's crystals are aligned just right, the whole cloud lights up in a spectrum of colors. Makes me think if our own crystaline structure is aligned just right, we will also light up in a spectrum of colors. I can't wait for the Rainbow dance!
Last year for my nephew's school project on "Flat Stanley", I took this character to the Wizard of Oz and wrote about it. I included the words to, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in the report I sent to him. Amazing that this years American Idol runner up "Kat" sang this song and it was a hit for her.
Your words, "Pay Attention" always speak to me now. That picture was a beautiful reminder.
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