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Why Rainbows Always Appear Opposite the Sun

Why Rainbows Always Appear Opposite the Sun

为什么彩虹总出现在太阳对面?

  1. A rainbow forms when sunlight enters a raindrop, bends, reflects off its inner surface, and exits at a specific angle.
  2. This process separates white light into its component colors because each color bends by a slightly different amount.
  3. Red light exits the drop at about 42 degrees from the original sunlight direction, while violet exits at about 40 degrees.
  4. Since all raindrops at that precise angle relative to your eye and the sun contribute to the arc, you see a circle centered on the antisolar point.
  5. That point lies directly opposite the sun — so if the sun is behind you, the rainbow appears ahead.
  6. You can never walk to the end of a rainbow because it moves as you move, always maintaining that 42-degree geometry.
  7. From an airplane, under the right conditions, you might even see a full circular rainbow around your shadow.
  8. The brightness and clarity of a rainbow depend heavily on drop size, sunlight intensity, and background contrast.
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