Did you know?

The lower the sun is in the sky, the taller the rainbow.

You can never find the end of the rainbow as a rainbow is an optical illusion. When you move, the rainbow moves too.

If you are very high up, it is possible to see a circular rainbow. These occur when the arc continues below the horizon. They are mainly visible from aeroplanes. Here you can see an amazing circular rainbow around the setting sun. It was created by tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere on a cold winter’s day.

Such atmospheric conditions can also produce an upside-down rainbow.

You can sometimes see double rainbows. These are known as secondary rainbows. The larger rainbow looks like the shadow of the brighter rainbow because the sunlight is reflected twice within the same raindrop. But look carefully! Notice in the second rainbow the colours are reversed. This happens because the light is being bent twice inside the raindrops.

Rainbows can also occur at night when the moon reflects the white light of the sun whilst it is raining.