This past Sunday, beach goers at South Carolina's Isle of Palms enjoyed a “fire rainbow” that lit up the sky for nearly an hour. Different from a typical arched rainbow, this awe-inspiring phenomena has colorful, iridescent hues that float among the clouds and shine like a brilliant flame.
Fire rainbows, which are technically called circumhorizontal arcs, occur in “high-level cirrus clouds made up of tiny ice crystals,” according to meteorologist Justin Lock. “To produce the rainbow colors, the sun's rays must enter the ice crystals at a precise angle to give the prism effect of the color spectrum,” he explained to 14 News. In addition, the sun must also be at an altitude of at least 58 degrees above the horizon.
Visible over an idyllic seascape, this incredible rarity didn't go unnoticed–it was promptly photographed and shared on social media. See some of our favorite pictures below.
Above photo credit: @sseaburd
Photo credit: Tracey Smith
Photo credit: @icrw70
Photo credit: @ginknowsabe
Photo credit: @physnano
Photo credit: @3rdnlong
Photo credit: @sherry13403
Photo credit: @accentsbyalex
via [Mashable]
