Images of Fire Rainbows & Lunar Fogbows

[G_j]

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-10-incredible-fire-rainbow-images

10 Incredible Images of Fire Rainbows



When you think you understand the beauty in nature, especially in the magical awe that a rainbow can inspire, then something will appear that still manages to both surprise and delight you in equal measure. Just occasionally, the weather conditions will line up perfectly to provide us with a visual feast that we need to be very quick to catch sight of. At times reminding us of the aurora borealis or simple rainbows, these events are neither but a magical experience in their own right.




These are fire rainbows - the rarest of all naturally occurring atmospheric phenomena.

The clouds needed for these rare events have to be cirrus and at least 20,000 feet in the air, with just the right amount of ice crystals. The sun also has to hit the clouds at precisely 58 degrees.

It looks like a rainbow on fire, but this phenomenon is as cold as ice. Known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc, this isn't a rainbow in the traditional sense — it is caused by light passing through wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds.

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.
..more..

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edited to add,

The Elusive Beauty of Lunar Fogbows

http://www.care2.com/news/member/918337647/1472847

It is a rare sight indeed, even from the vantage point of a volcanic crater, high atop Hawaii's huge Haleakala volcano. Arching over a thick blanket of fog - a bridge over a bed of cotton wool - the luminous yet ephemeral beauty of a lunar rainbow..

[canetoad]

1. Magnificent

I learn something new every day. Thanks for posting.

[LWolf]

2. I've never heard of fire rainbows before!

Thanks for sharing; it's great to learn something new and wonderful.

[Donnachaidh]

3. Awesome! Thanks for posting this! n/t

[eowyn_of_rohan]

4. Very cool. I just saw one in the South Dakota Badlands last month

It was in cirrus clouds. I didn't know it was called a fire rainbow!

[mzteris]

5. i thought this was gonna be another thread

about oil in the clouds....

Thanks for posting these. They're BEAUTIFUL! And even more amazing - I've never heard of "fire rainbows"!!

[DisgustipatedinCA]

6. Cool. I saw one of these; didn't know they were called Fire Rainbows

We saw one of these last year in Eastern Yosemite, near Cathedral Lake. The first picture in the OP is amazing, by the way.

[kgnu_fan]

7. thank you, i love rainbows!

[SidDithers]

8. Nature can be a wonderful artist...

hole punch clouds are pretty cool too.



Sid

[G_j]

11. amazing

and Steven Spielberg wasn't involved?

[randr]

9. These are beautiful

Occasionally I have seen what we call "sun dogs". Prismatic displays forming when the same types of clouds are at the proper altitude. They occur at the cardinal points and at times are connected by a ring around the sun.
Unfortunately I have never had it together to take a photograph.

[davidinalameda]

10. of course there are going to be rainbows of all sorts in the sky

it's Pride Month

[loudsue]

17. +1 What a cool post!!!

Thanks!

[Blue_Tires]

12. i was wondering what they were called...

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. I just saw a piece of rainbow in a magenta cloud a few minutes ago. Absolutely striking. Thanks for

posting these pics. I can't wait to show the kids.

[G_j]

18. there are more

at the link. Fascinating. :-)

[NBachers]

14. Check that out!

[lunatica]

15. Thanks for posting these!

Breathtakingly beautiful. We live amid so much beauty.

[alfredo]

16. Moonbow, Cumberland Falls Ky.

[DemoTex]

19. Fantastic!

I'll be watching for some of those out here in the lookout tower. I saw plenty of snowbows in the last few weeks.

[DemoTex]

20. Fantastic! Right up my alley.

I'll be watching for some of those out here in the lookout tower. I saw plenty of snowbows in the last few weeks.

[G_j]

21. here's a link to the fogbows

the old one no longer led to photographs.

this will work,
http://www.madville.com/out/cool/321931_the_elusive_beauty_of_lunar_fogbows

[Stargazer09]

22. Beautiful!

Thank you very much for posting those. :)

[eppur_se_muova]

23. I saw one of those a few years ago -- very faint -- didn't know what it was.

Thanks for posting, very interesting.

[G_j]

24. kick

for Sunday morning :-)

[Lisa0825]

25. I saw fire rainbows yesterday. I alwasys look for them when I see

high wispy clouds.

[bluesmail]

26. I believe that's what I saw driving a windy Hwy on June 18. It was so amazingly

beautiful and mysterious at the same time I pulled over and took my binoculars out to see it better. The strange thing I noticed was it was stationary, a white cloud floated parallel past it. I've got searching to do on Fire Rainbows to better understand that beautiful sight. I wish everybody could see it. Magnificent. Thanks for posting. (I took notes so I wouldn't forget what I'd seen).

[G_j]

27. **