For background, I was on a tour coming back from Ballestas Islands just off of Peru, around 11:00 a.m., no rain (it's a desert area), sky was partly cloudy. The phenomenon stayed a couple of minutes. As we progressed, the colours merged to a strand of amber.
Can anyone tell me how this rainbow cloud is formed?
19 Comments
zifk@sh.itjust.works · 48 pts · 285d
Cloud iridescence! . Typical with thin high atmosphere clouds. When very small ice crystals or water droplets form the cloud they can diffract the light from the sun, causing an interference pattern to form. Not entirely dissimilar from an oil slick.
Quilotoa@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 285d
Thanks a bunch. Are they more common in hot countries? Never seen them in Canada.
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca · 16 pts · 285d
Am Canadian. Have seen them. It's more about altitude than lattitude.
Edit: Spend a little bit of every day looking at the sky. Day or night, it's often magnificent.
apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 284d
I see them in the Midwest quite regularly. If you're outside enough, you see them.
EightLeggedFreak@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 284d
Last night's sky was especially amazing.
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 284d
Aurora?
Alvaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 153d
I'm in a hot country and I have only seen it twice in my life with about 20 years between the two times.
irotsoma@piefed.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 284d
What part of Canada? If west coast, probably the clouds are just typically too low and thick.
Quilotoa@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 282d
Northern Ontario
ch00f@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 285d
Super interesting that this is an entirely different mechanism from a rainbow.
Krudler@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 284d
The way they are describing it isn't entirely accurate.
It's not an interference pattern, it's basic refraction. And since each wavelength of incoming "white" light is refracted slightly different, you get the rainbow display
ch00f@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 284d
You are correct! I think the use of the word "diffraction" is a bit confusing because "diffraction patterns" are an interference effect.
So is this any different than a rainbow? The path of light must be at least different since rainbows only occur in the opposite direction of the Sun.
Krudler@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 284d
No it's the same effect. Suspended water particulate refracting sunlight.
apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 285d
Similar to a sun dog.
Oisteink@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 285d
Sun dogs are refraction, and these clouds are diffraction
shalafi@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 285d
Oh! I thought OP's pic was what a sun dog looks like.
apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 285d
I think it is, just with particular ice at a particular radius around the sun above.
ameancow@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 284d
owsei@programming.dev · 2 pts · 284d
*sigh*
what's updog?
ameancow@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 284d
Hadriscus@jlai.lu · 2 pts · 285d
Niiiiice