                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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 November 27

                   Supernumerary Rainbows over New Jersey
                  Image Credit & Copyright: John Entwistle

   Explanation: Yes, but can your rainbow do this? After the remnants of
   Hurricane Florence passed over the Jersey Shore, New Jersey, USA in
   2018, the Sun came out in one direction but something quite unusual
   appeared in the opposite direction: a hall of rainbows. Over the course
   of a next half hour, to the delight of the photographer and his
   daughter, vibrant supernumerary rainbows faded in and out, with at
   least five captured in this featured single shot. Supernumerary
   rainbows only form when falling water droplets are all nearly the same
   size and typically less than a millimeter across. Then, sunlight will
   not only reflect from inside the raindrops, but interfere, a wave
   phenomenon similar to ripples on a pond when a stone is thrown in. In
   fact, supernumerary rainbows can only be explained with waves, and
   their noted existence in the early 1800s was considered early evidence
   of light's wave nature.

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