And you thought you knew about rainbows?

The more I read about rainbows, the more there seems to be to learn. I know I have seen rainbows with secondary rainbows but beyond that, I had not really paid attention or realised how much more there was. Next time I see a rainbow I am going to hope I am not driving and that I can have a good look for all of these things...

Here is some more information about rainbows!

The primary rainbow is often the brightest one that you can see. The area inside the rainbow will be lighter and the area outside will be darker, because of the way in which the water in the atmosphere directs the sunlight.

It's not uncommon to see a fainter second rainbow when conditions are particularly good and the rainbow appears bright. The second rainbow will actually have it's colours in reverse to the primary rainbow and will be broader than the primary rainbow. In between the two rainbows it may be possible to see a dark band, called Alexander's Band, which is an area of unlit sky.

It would be possible to have a third or fourth rainbow but these would be dimmer and broader and very hard to see outside of the lab. If they are visible, they will be seen looking towards the sun rather than away from it. When there is a rainbow, the sun may also have an extra glow to it. This is easiest to see when the sun is already close to the horizon and red or orange.

Sometimes there are additional bands of light within a rainbow called supernumary rainbows. They are green pink and purple fringes, most visible at the top of the bow. If they are visible on a secondary rainbow, they will be on the outside.

If a rainbow forms over water, it is also possible for a reflection rainbow to form. This is where sunlight reflected off the water also creates a rainbow and they often appear to be at quite odd angles compared to the other rainbows formed from the non-reflected light.

You can also get reflected rainbows where they appear as a reflection in water beneath the rainbow, but the water has to be extremely flat!

You can also get a twinned rainbow where the primary rainbow appears to split in to two. This is definitely not supernumary bows as they have rainbow colours. They are pretty rare and you can see some pictures here.

I have collected some photos on pinterest!