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Rainbow that set the sky on fire!; ...more rare than Northern Lights
Topic Started: Jun 8 2006, 06:01 AM (284 Views)
The 89th Key
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In a breathtaking blaze of glory, Nature puts on one of its most spectacular sky shows.

Reds, oranges, blues and greens create a flaming rainbow that stretches above the clouds.

But this circumhorizon arc, as it is known, owes more to ice than fire. It occurs when sunlight passes through ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. It is one of 15 types of ice halos formed only when the most specific of factors dovetail precisely together.

This blanket of fire, covering hundreds of square miles, is the rarest phenomenon of them all. It was spotted in the US on the Washington-Idaho border around midday last Saturday.

Dr Jonathan Fox, of the US National Weather Service in Spokane, Washington, said: 'It was even more spectacular than the Northern Lights. I feel lucky to have seen it because it only forms in very rare situations. This is the first one I've ever seen. It was a breathtaking sight and it hung around for about an hour.'

To create a rainbow of fire, clouds must be at least 20,000ft high and the ice crystals within them align horizontally instead of their usual vertical position. The sun also needs to be at least 58 degrees above the horizon. Then, the magic can begin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...70&in_a_source=
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***musical princess***
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HOLY CARP!!!
:o

That's incredible! It's so beautiful!

Nature is unbelievable... it never ceases to amaze me....

x
x Caroline x
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Most likely interpreted as a sign from god(s) in less enlightened times.
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o 0
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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***musical princess***
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HOLY CARP!!!
Wow! I just noticed the plane trail through it!! I wonder how close it was...

x
x Caroline x
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big al
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Bull-Carp
That really is beautiful. I never knew this phenomenon even existed.

Big Al
Location: Western PA

"jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen."
-bachophile
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Bernard
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Well you know, June IS Gay Pride Month. :D

(Sorry, couldn't resist that one.)
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AlbertaCrude
Bull-Carp
Spectacular, I wasn't aware of the phenomenon.

Although I must point out that where I live the Northern Lights are not all that rare. And yes I have seen some pretty spectacular auroras covering the visible spectrum dance and boil across the autumn and winter night skies.
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Bernard
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AlbertaCrude
Jun 8 2006, 02:11 PM
And yes I have seen some pretty spectacular auroras covering the visible spectrum dance and boil across the autumn and winter night skies.

I saw a full display of the Auroras one time when I was a child in NH. It was SPECTACULAR. The whole sky was filled with pulsating light and color, convening at an apex over our heads.
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lb1
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Mark
Jun 8 2006, 07:11 AM
Most likely interpreted as a sign from god(s) in less enlightened times.

Where else could have this come from?

lb
My position is simple: you jumped to an unwarranted conclusion and slung mud on an issue where none was deserved. Quirt 03/08/09
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Physics. :P

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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lb1
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Fulla-Carp
:lol: :lol: :lol:

lb
My position is simple: you jumped to an unwarranted conclusion and slung mud on an issue where none was deserved. Quirt 03/08/09
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
I'll never forget one dark night I was alone waiting for a bus in Iceland.
I looked up and saw the aurora borealis.

It was huge.
Very strange and disorienting, scary almost.

Fortunately I knew what it was.
If not a person could get very freaked out.

BTW occasionally at night I'll see a halo around the moon that breaks light into the colors of the rainbow.
Very faint but it is not anything I was smoking.
Must be a similar reason.
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Bernard
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Quote:
 
I'll never forget one dark night I was alone waiting for a bus in Iceland.


They have buses in Iceland!? Funny but I never thought such a thing. Oh my.

(This isn't the place to ask, but how are ya!?)
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garrett
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kenny
Jun 8 2006, 07:52 PM
BTW occasionally at night I'll see a halo around the moon that breaks light into the colors of the rainbow.

I've seen the same thing many times upon a foggy night. The fog creates a barrier that makes you wish it was gone so that you could see the color more clearly.
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