Everyone is used to rainbows, a meteorological phenomenon caused by the physical alteration of light in water droplets: reflection, refraction and dispersion. The result in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky, forming of a multicoloured arc that always appears in the sky directly opposite the Sun.
More unusual are moonbows; these are formed when moonlight, rather than direct sunlight, is refracted by moisture in the atmosphere. In October 2016, Digital Journal discussed a rare moonbow that occurred across the skies over the county of Yorkshire, England. The shimmering light was spotted, and photographed by Ben Gwynne.
Now comes the even rarer ‘fog bow.’ A fog bow is sometimes called a white rainbow. It is similar to a rainbow, occurring in fog rather than rain. Due to the very small size of water droplets that cause fog, the fog bow displays only very weak colors, with a red outer edge and bluish inner edge.
A recent event was spotted by Melvin Nicholson, who wandering across a moor, south of Glen Coe in Scotland. Fortunately Mr. Nicholson had a good quality camera with him and was able to capture the sky projection. The photograph, due to the rarity of the event, has been trending strongly on social media ever since the picture was posted on Flickr.
Speaking with the BBC about the picture, Mr Nicholson said: “It was just beyond magical and one of those days that you’ll remember for a long time to come.”
