Rainbows

Rainbows are a natural phenomenon which occur when sunlight and rain interact.

Sunlights interaction with a water droplet. Photo courtesy of the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology.

Light enters into a raindrop and is refracted, which disperses the light into different wavelengths (red through violet colors). Some of these wavelengths are reflected off the back of raindrops and come back out of the raindrop displaying a rainbow

Rainbows can be observed whenever water droplets are present in the air and the Sun is positioned at a low angle. An individual will be able to see the rainbow if he or she is standing between the water droplets and the Sun.