BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!

Subject: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:03 PM

I've never seen such a phenomenon, have any of you? We were driving mostly South in the early afternoon, going from central to southern Virginia, and there were clouds of amazing shapes. The car had one of those blue tinted tops of the windshield, with a rainbow-ish edge to it, so I didn't realize right away what I was seeing. One of the cloud formations had a splash of bright color to it, with the rainbow spectrum from orange at the top to a very bright blue I'd never seen in a sky at the bottom. The rainbow was *inside* the cloud, that is, when the cloud stretched fingerlike tendrils, the tendrils were colored, by some kind of Tyndall effect, I assume. It lasted about 50 miles, and changed subtly and swiftly, sometimes losing all but a reddish orange streak under which a separate bright blue streak would form, and the rest of the rainbow get filled in afterwards, or sometimes there was just bright yellow... and with the shapes the clouds were making, there were sometimes people with yellow arms and blue feet and flame-colored heads, it was absolutely amazing.
And I was the passenger, so I could really just sit and watch it. As our road wandered east or west of south it would shift, and as the clouds moved, and as the terrain rose and fell. I've really never seen anything like it.
And the driver couldn't see it. First of all, he's too tall and too stiff-necked (physically, that is) to see under the blue stripe (which washed it almost completely out), secondly he's color blind, and third we were wearing different types of sunglasses (taking mine off almost erased it too).
It was a thing of rare and amazing beauty and all for me. I kept wanting to point it out to other traffic... but I thought I'd tell you all about it now that I'm back...

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:50 PM

How amazing! And no, I've never seen such a thing! Sure wish you had a camera!

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:53 PM

Just googled cloud rainbow and found these
click

And click again

There are a few more too. NEAT!

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Melissa
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:53 PM

We call that a Sundog..

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Peace
Date: 25 May 09 - 09:14 PM

A sundog.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 May 09 - 09:26 PM

Well, I've never seen one! Sure would LOVE to tho!

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: bobad
Date: 25 May 09 - 09:33 PM

A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, for "beside the sun") is a common bright circular spot on a solar halo. It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection or refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals making up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. Often, two sun dogs can be seen (one on each side of the sun) simultaneously.

Sundogs

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: GUEST,Peace
Date: 25 May 09 - 09:35 PM

We call the one on the left (viewer's perspective) Fido.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 May 09 - 10:29 PM

magic pictures - thanks to everyone for memories & pics

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: topical tom
Date: 25 May 09 - 11:35 PM

Fascinatingly beautiful! Thanks for the amazing photos.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 May 09 - 12:01 AM

Sundogs are occasionally seen here in Alberta, but the cloud rainbow I have seen only once, and that was in New Mexic, many years ago..

We saw a common, ordinary rainbow this evening in Calgary, as showers build up in the afternoons. Hope the rains are widespread and continue; crops will be good. In Calgary, June 1 on average is the first day of the 'frost-free' season.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 May 09 - 12:47 AM

Years ago when I was flying across the country, I looked down on some clouds and saw a rainbow circle. It was just magical...a complete, perfect circle in all the colours of the rainbow. Wished I had a camera.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 26 May 09 - 03:54 AM

I've seen a couple of those beautiful bows - and I'm the sort of person who can stare at a rainbow for ages, just because it is so wonderous... good job I like rain!

The best one was on a clear sunny day, with just some high wispy cloud, in Somerset. We were on a bellringing tour (a tower grab to those in the know) and a couple of us were outside listening. As you do when listening to bells, we looked up at the tower and there above it, was an upturned rainbow smile - in what appeared to be a clear blue sky, stunning.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 May 09 - 03:06 PM

Great pix! Thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Wesley S
Date: 26 May 09 - 03:20 PM

Once up in the Cascades we got out of our car and took a short walk up to a peak. As the air crossed the ridge a cloud formed about 50 yards below us. As I turned around I saw my own shadow cast on the cloud below me with a halo of a rainbow surrounding it. I snapped a photo with a crummy camera - but the picture in my brain is still fresh and sharp.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: SINSULL
Date: 26 May 09 - 04:05 PM

And we had a sun dog this morning.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Fergie
Date: 26 May 09 - 04:41 PM

Saw one about 20 years ago when travelling on a bus near Galway. Never saw a picture of one before. nice

Fergus

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: GUEST
Date: 26 May 09 - 06:22 PM

when we got to the getaway then on to wysiwyg we saw something like it crossing hills in penn . Quack   gtd

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: jeddy
Date: 26 May 09 - 07:49 PM

absolutly amazing pictures they gave me goosebumps i am very very jealous. i get excited at a normal rainbow!! they normally mean good luck to us, i hope that something nice is coming your' way. :')

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Emma B
Date: 26 May 09 - 07:55 PM

I've experienced this twice too, both times in the Scottish isles; once driving on Syke and again sailing into the Isle of Arran.
I didn't have a camera ready on either occasion but the image is still clear in my memory

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Splott Man
Date: 27 May 09 - 03:42 AM

Wesley S.

I've experienced that too inthe English Lake District. It's called a glory. I took several pictures of mine. If you try to zoom in it dissipates.

And of course, everyone gets their own personal glory, the same is true of rainbows.

Splott Man

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 May 09 - 02:56 PM

Click here to see a cloud rainbow photo Art Thieme took in Chicago.
Cool!

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 27 May 09 - 03:11 PM

I spent most of my life in Virginia and have seen loads of rainbows (especially double and even treble rainbows), but nohting like that. Incredible.

Thanks for the pics of the sundogs too. Fascinating.

Brocken spectres are pretty cool too.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 27 May 09 - 04:36 PM

Google does call it Rare. It was absolutely amazing.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 27 May 09 - 05:32 PM

You should live on Orkney. We have the most fantastic skies ever ! Rainbows, mother of pearl sky, cloud rainbows, northern lights and many other types of sky. In a couple of weeks it will be light all day. people come up here to fish and play golf in the midnight sun.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Joybell
Date: 27 May 09 - 08:24 PM

So wonderful. We once saw a Moonbow -- pale but in all the colours. Thought we were dreaming but I looked them up. Ours was rare being away from waterfalls and all. The moon was rising, and at exactly the right angle, behind us. We were looking into misty rain.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: bobad
Date: 27 May 09 - 09:23 PM

The Pot of Gold

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 28 May 09 - 08:03 AM

I think I saw something that could be related to this last weekend.
I was looking across the valley from our house with the sun behind me and broken cloud. There was a misty cloud passing across in front and brushing the upper part of the hill, but just diffuse enough for you to make out some detail through it.
There were deffinate tints to the colours of the fields from time to time as the sun behind me was exposed intermitantly, but no actual rainbow and the areas of tint looked too big for a conventional rainbow anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 28 May 09 - 06:42 PM

a few months ago my 4 yr old daughter saw a rainbow on the way back from pre-school.. It looked like it was at the end of the block so she wanted to hurry up and get to the bottom.

saw a double rainbow not long ago too.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Will Fly
Date: 29 May 09 - 05:04 AM

Here's a double rainbow taken from the end of the road I live in.

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Art Thieme
Date: 29 May 09 - 12:19 PM

O.K., I guess I'd best own up to the truth of it. My photo that Joe linked to was taken on a beautiful, clear day in Chicago. The sun was shining brightly, and there were no clouds in the sky----no colors or rainbow either. By running it through applications on Photo-shop, I was able to create those colorful atmospheric aspects.

Such is life in 2009.

Depicted in the photo is the John Hancock Building--the second tallest edifice in town which is known affectionately as "Big John" to Chicagoans. The shot was taken on Chicago Avenue near Dearborn Street. The foreground building is one of my favorites. I think that it's strange and complex -- even bizarre -- architecture is rivaled only by the Executive Office Building that stands next to the White House in Washington, D.C.

Sorry if I misled some of you. I meant to tell the truth---I really did!?

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: BS: A cloud rainbow - thing of rare beauty!
From: Will Fly
Date: 29 May 09 - 12:48 PM

Art - you bad boy! Go stand in the corner - and no peeking... :-)