A Stunning, Colorful 'Fire Rainbow' Spotted In The Sky Of Singapore
The residents of Singapore were stunned to see the amazing and colorful "fire rainbow" that brightened their sky on Monday in the late afternoon. It lasted for 15 minutes and was visible across the nation.
It is reported that it could be a "fire rainbow" or also referred to as "circumhorizontal arc," which is a rare cloud phenomenon and occurs when sunlight refracts through ice crystal clouds. Other said that it could have been cloud iridescence that occurs when water droplets or crystals scatter light. This happens when the clouds are thin and the Sun's rays encounter very little water, according to The Independent.
Singapore 'fire rainbow' cloud phenomenon lights up sky - BBC News https://t.co/oEnjeCE3uQ #FireRainbow #StormHour pic.twitter.com/FjUwb2OyaJ
— #StormHour (@StormHour) February 21, 2017
The childcare worker, Fazidah Mokhtar, witnessed the phenomenon around 5:10 p.m. on Monday (9:10 a.m. GMT). She said it started as a small orange circle and then grew bigger and bigger till all the colors came out. She further said that it lasted for about 15 minutes and it slowly went off. She added that all the children in the school, some parents and other staff were very excited and commented that it was very, very rare to see such a beautiful and unique rainbow.
Meanwhile, some compared it to a Paddle Pop, which is a rainbow-colored frozen dessert popular in Australia and Asia. Of course, it was a joke. Someone also said that rainbow bridge is broken.
A circumhorizontal arc is shaped by the refraction of the Sun or moonlight in ice crystal that is suspended in the atmosphere in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. The arc looks like a large, brightly colored band, in which red being the topmost color. It runs parallel to the horizon that is situated far below the Sun or Moon. The arc belongs to the family of ice halos.
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