Reflection Rainbow Over Samos Island, Greece

January 30, 2018

Reflected_rainbow_Τριπλό ουράνιο τόξο (β) (1)

Photographer: Manolis Thravalos 
Summary Authors: Manolis Thravalos; Jim Foster

January 2018 Viewer's ChoiceAlthough I've read about reflection rainbows, I never expected to see one. But several weeks ago, I observed this magical rainbow, near my birthplace on Samos Island, Greece. The brightest bow, at left center, is the primary rainbow; the secondary rainbow, the faintest of the three is at the far left, while the reflection rainbow is in between these two, appearing as the vertical arc just to the left of the primary bow. This bow results when sunlight shines upwards after first reflecting off still water. Upon close inspection, a fourth rainbow can be seen -- a reflected rainbow (different from a reflection rainbow) near the base of the primary. Note that the steep angle of the primary rainbow signals that the Sun was quite low in the sky, not far from setting. Reflection bows are easier to detect when the Sun is close to the horizon. Photo taken on December 27, 2017.

Photo Details: Camera: NIKON D3200; Exposure Time: 0.033s (1/30); Aperture: ƒ/8.0; ISO equivalent: 100; Focal Length (35mm): 52; Lens: 35.0 mm f/1.8; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows).