CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Rainbows are very beautiful, and some would say spectacular. They can also bring joy and fascination to young and old alike.
For a rainbow to occur, you'll need several different ingredients. The sun needs to be at a low angle, typically less than 42 degrees or less. The sun also needs to be at your back and in front of the rain.
The combination of rays from the sun is called white light and contain all the colors. As the light passes through the raindrops, the different color wavelengths are refracted or bent. Those colors are then reflected back out of the drop, now with the colors separated.
Double rainbows will occur when the colors are reflected twice in the raindrop. The exciting part of a double rainbow is its color combination. The primary rainbow will have colors in one particular order, while the colors of the less dominant bow will be opposite.
Another interesting fact is that rainbows are round. We only see a portion of the rainbow because of the ground block our view. If you were high enough in the sky looking down on the rainbow, it would be possible to see the entire circle.
Obviously, you don't want to look straight at the sun, but the light from the sun can cause some unusual and spectacular optical observations.
