Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 December 27 [2]The featured image shows two complete circular rainbows centered on a mountainous island. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. A Full Circle Rainbow over Norway Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Lukas Moesch Explanation: Have you ever seen an entire rainbow? From the ground, typically, only the top portion of a rainbow is [4]visible because directions toward the ground have fewer raindrops. From the air, though, the entire 360-degree circle of a [5]rainbow is more commonly visible. Pictured here, a full-circle rainbow was captured over the [6]Lofoten Islands of [7]Norway in September by a drone passing through a rain shower. An observer-dependent [8]phenomenon primarily caused by the [9]internal reflection of sunlight by raindrops, the [10]rainbow has a full [11]diameter of 84 degrees. The [12]Sun is in the exact [13]opposite direction from the rainbow's center. As a [14]bonus, a [15]second rainbow that was more faint and color-reversed was visible outside the first. Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [16]< | [17]Archive | [18]Submissions | [19]Index | [20]Search | [21]Calendar | [22]RSS | [23]Education | [24]About APOD | [25]Discuss | [26]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [27]Robert Nemiroff ([28]MTU) & [29]Jerry Bonnell ([30]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [31]Specific rights apply. [32]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC, [36]NASA Science Activation & [37]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2212/FullCircleRainbow_Moesch_4500.jpg 3. https://www.lukas-moesch.ch/about 4. http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/09/17/circular_rainbow_rare_optic_effect_seen_from_the_air.html 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow 6. https://youtu.be/mg67iIFivDo 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway 8. https://scijinks.gov/rainbow/ 9. https://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/orders.htm 10. https://www.atoptics.co.uk/bows.htm 11. https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/24x910/what_is_the_diameter_of_a_rainbow/ 12. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190624.html 14. https://hiawasseevet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/smiling-cat-for-web.jpg 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070912.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221226.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 20. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 25. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221227 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221228.html 27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 30. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 32. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 36. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 37. http://www.mtu.edu/