Find a Rainbow Day

Find a Rainbow Day is April 3rd

Rainbows have always been one of the more fascinating natural phenomenons. Seeing the bright colors in the sky has always been a source of joy for many people. People have enjoyed this natural phenomena so much that they have decided to dedicate April 3rd to commemorate the bright colors and happiness they bring every year. Rainbows are caused by the reflection and refraction of light in water droplets in the Earth’s atmosphere. This is why you see a rainbow when the sun comes out after a rainstorm. The light is refracted or bent when it goes through a droplet of water. The light is then reflected inside the water droplet and refracted again as the water droplet falls away from the rainbow. Water droplets essentially act as little mirrors to the light and allow for the different colors to appear when a rainbow appears. Rainbows don’t always have to appear from rain, they can appear from mist and spray from a hose as well. Children often learn ROYGBIV in elementary science classes to remember the sequences of colors that appear in a rainbow. 

Different Variations of Rainbows

While we all are aware of the classic rainbow we see in the sky and in drawings there are actually many different kinds of rainbows. The various different kinds are listed below.

Multiple Rainbow: This rainbow appears due to double reflection of light in the water droplets. Due to this, two rainbows appear, the first is a primary rainbow and the second is a secondary rainbow. To the viewer the secondary rainbow appears to be turned upwards and the colors appear in reverse order of the first one. This gap between the first and second rainbow is known as an Alexander Band. 

Full Circle Rainbow: This kind of rainbow appears to start from the ground and go into a circle. This kind of rainbow is best observed from a higher point like a mountain or a hill. When viewed from the ground the viewer only sees the upper circle and not the complete circle rainbow. 

Lunar Rainbow: These rainbows are the most rare of all the rainbows. These rainbows can only be seen when the moon is very bright. These rainbows aren’t as bright as those seen during the day and are very dim. The color of these rainbows is outside the color spectrum viewable by humans and therefore we cannot easily see the colors without other instruments. 

How to Celebrate Find a Rainbow Day

There are a wide variety of ways to celebrate this holiday. The first being to find your friends and go looking for a rainbow. You don’t have to limit yourself to the sky in your rainbow search. You can look at sprinklers, car washes, or maybe spray some water and make your own. Rainbows are more than just a thing in nature, they are also a symbol for the LGBTQ community. This holiday can be a launching point to organize an event in support of this community or to find ways to connect with others in this community. Finally, as the myth always says, there’s treasure at the end of a rainbow. Today can be a day to organize a treasure hunt with your friends and look for that missing pot of gold.