One of the beauties of living in a digital age is being able to capture something visually stunning and instantly share it with your friends, family, and possibly, the world.
That was the case for one woman in Singapore.
In the late afternoon of Monday, February 20, 2017, a colorful haze appeared in the sky.
According to the woman who recorded the video: “I was walking towards my bus stop when I found myself in awe of this beautiful cloud and the myriad of colors that was bursting out of it. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I literally turned on Facebook Live to share the exact moment that I saw it! I was feeling pretty down over the past week, but this has immediately lifted my spirits. Without a doubt, I praise God for this miracle in the sky!”
This rare and beautiful phenomenon lasted only 15 minutes, but it was seen across the island.
“What is happening – there is a rainbow on top of a cloud,” the woman says in the video. “This is the coolest thing I have ever seen before in my life!”
Others on YouTube were also in awe of the sight.
The sight is an optical phenomenon colloquially called a “fire rainbow”. While a fire rainbow is incredibly rare in itself, it is more likely that it would happen in the summer than any other season of the year. This is because fire rainbows, or more accurately circumhorizontal arcs, can occur when the sun is higher than 58° in the sky.
Mid-latitude areas would likely experience a fire rainbow during the middle of summer. For a better idea of the potential of this phenomenon, a person living in Los Angeles has a 5-10 times higher chance of seeing a fire rainbow than a person in London.
Another key ingredient of a fire rainbow is cirrus clouds. Cirrus clouds are identified by their thin, wispy appearance, and they frequently occur at higher altitudes. They are also made of ice crystals because the temperatures are low where the clouds exist.
Once the sun has risen higher than 58° in the sky, light refracts through the crystals. The plate-like shape of the crystals act like prisms, which results in the fire rainbow.
Isn’t nature amazing?
Check out this beautiful optical phenomenon for yourself. Here’s to hoping we get to see a fire rainbow in person someday!
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