Thank you so much for visiting, I am so excited to share some fun and interesting Rainbow facts for kids.
Have you ever seen a colorful arc in the sky after it rains? Of course you have! There is a nothing better than discovering a beautiful rainbow after a slight rain. Did you ever wonder how this multicolor arc suddenly appears in the sky? I know I have! I am going to help break it down so you can understand the magic that makes these beautiful arc appear.
A rainbow consists of seven colors beautiful colors. You can see it when the sunlight shines through the pouring rain. White light is refracted or bent when it passes through a rain droplet.
It gets split into different colors and is again reflected, just like your mirror reflection. You can then see all the seven beautiful colors of a rainbow. A rainbow appears whenever one part of the sky rains while the other part is sunny.
Children read a lot about magical rainbows in stories. However, it’s time you take some time to learn the real secrets behind these beautiful spectacles in sky, better known as the rainbow. Keep reading as we have several interesting facts about Rainbows below.
Beautiful Rainbow
Interesting Rainbow Quick Facts
Number of Colors: Seven
Colors: Red, blue, yellow, orange, green, violet, and indigo
Average Duration: Less than an hour
Longest-observed: Almost 9 hours
Fun Rainbow Facts For Kids
- A rainbow is a complete circle! You can only see an arc or semi-circle of a rainbow because you view it from the ground.
- Every water drop creates its tiny rainbow. About a million raindrops need to make their rainbows for you to see a rainbow in the sky!
- Rainbow is an optical illusion. You cannot physically touch it.
- A rainbow appears at a 42-degree angle in the opposite direction of the sun.
- Not only through rain, but you can also see a rainbow through fog, mist, dew, and spray. You can see it through any water drops whenever light shines through them at a right angle.
- A double rainbow appears after the sunlight refracts more than once in a water droplet. A third and fourth rainbow can also appear sometimes!
- Two people cannot see the same rainbow. Even both your eyes catch a slightly different rainbow! If anyone appears to stand under the rainbow that you know, they will see another rainbow at a similar angle but a further distance.
- Most of the rainbows that you see are called the primary rainbow. Here the red color is seen at the outer edge while violet is at the inner edge.
- The moonlight can sometimes produce a rainbow. It is called a moonbow, night-time rainbow, or lunar rainbow. You can see it in white. However, in reality, all colors are present but faintly.
- Fog droplets and clouds produce a fogbow. Faint colors are visible, but it looks almost white. A fogbow is much broader than a regular rainbow.
- The rainbow will appear higher when the sun is lower. When the sun is higher, the rainbow seems lower.
- In the entire solar system, only planet Earth has rainbows.
- During a double rainbow, a fainter second arc forms outside the primary arc. Due to this double reflection, the rainbow’s colors are inverted. Violet appears at the outer edge, while red appears on the inner edge.
- There is an unlit, dark section of the sky between the secondary arc and primary arc. This part is called Alexander’s band, named after Alexander of Aphrodisias.
- Did you know that you can make your very own rainbow? Yes, kids, you have heard it right! Just spray drops of water into the air with a water hose when it is sunny outside. Your mini rainbow appears all bright and pretty!
More Fun Science Facts For Kids
Fun Rainbow Gift Ideas
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Find Out How A Rainbow Is Formed: Video
I came across this fun animated video that does a great job explaining how rainbows are formed. My kids really enjoyed it and it explained rainbows way better than I ever could. Definitely worth a watch!
https://youtu.be/nCPPLhPTAIk
More Interesting Facts About Rainbows
It’s now time for a little rainbow Question and Answers session. Quench your curiosity with these answers to some of the most asked questions about rainbows!
Can You Touch A Rainbow?
Unfortunately, no. A rainbow is not a physical thing or object, and so, you cannot touch it. It is an optical phenomenon. It appears when light reflects and bends through water droplets. You cannot feel or touch this light.
How is A Rainbow Formed?
A rainbow forms whenever the sunlight shines through the water drops in the air. It generally happens when it rains or has rained recently. Sunlight travels to earth from space. It does this in wavelengths.
Wavelengths are different colors. While traveling, these wavelengths blend into one another. It creates the color white.
When it rains, wavelengths need to pass through the water droplets in the air. While passing through each droplet, they separate into different colors again. This emergence of distinct colors causes you to see the rainbow.
Why Is It Called A Rainbow?
Many people believe that the name rainbow comes from its shape. You can see a rainbow in the form of an arc. This arc looks very much like a bow used to shoot arrows.
Another factor that many observe is that a rainbow mostly appears when it rains. So, it is called a rainbow.
Where Does A Rainbow End?
A rainbow does not have an end. It may look like a semi-circle arc to you. In reality, however, a rainbow is a full circle.
You can only see half of this colorful circle because you are viewing it from the ground. If you view it from an airplane, you can see a full circle rainbow.
Final Thoughts
I hope you have a better understand about the the process required to make these beautiful rainbows. Plus learned some interesting rainbow facts for kids along the way. An inverted U rainbow never fails to put a full U smile on your face. The next time you see one, you know exactly how it is formed and much more!
Thank you for stopping by to learn all about rainbows. If you would like to know many more interesting facts for kids, our website has plenty of them. Make sure to stop by and check them out.
