NASA Shares Rare ¡®Smiling Rainbow¡¯ Image: Here¡¯s How It Was Formed

Rainbows are a beautiful rare phenomenon that brings immense joy after a rainy day. And often we¡¯ve seen rainbows have the classic bow-like shape, starting from the ground, going to the top and then touching the ground again.

Marcella Giulia Pace via NASA

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However, NASA has shared images of another kind of rainbow -- one that¡¯s upside down.

The image shared by NASA was actually captured in Ragusa Sicily by 47-year-old Italian astrophotographer and primary school teacher, Marcella Giulia Pace, who captured it in February when the sun was low in the sky.

NASA states that such inverted colourful arcs are also referred to as ¡®smiling rainbows¡¯, because of their unique curvature and colours.

NASA chose this image as a part of its ¡®Astronomy Picture of the Day¡¯, on March 11, 2022. Sharing the image, NASA also explained the science behind this strange phenomenon.

How does it occur?

NASA states, "The vividly colourful arcs are often called smiling rainbows because of their upside-down curvature and colours. For circumzenithal arcs, the zenith is at the centre and red is on the outside, compared to rainbows whose arcs bend toward the horizon after a downpour.¡±

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Reddit: big_luigi

NASA added, ¡°True rainbows are formed by water droplets refracting the sunlight to produce a spectrum of colours, though. Circumzenithal arcs are the product of refraction and reflection in flat hexagonal ice crystals, like the ice crystals that create sundogs, formed in high thin clouds."

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