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what are the conditions needed to observe a rainbow?

Rainbows are a striking and beautiful meteorological phenomenon caused by the refraction of light. In order for rainbows to form, the sun must be near the horizon, and there must be a heavy fog, mist, or rain opposite the sun. An observer standing between the sun and the rainbow would see a 180 degree arc of colors which run through the visible spectrum from red to violet. In some cases, if conditions are right, double rainbows will form, with a pale rainbow in reversed colors above the primary rainbow, and in other instances, a fully circular rainbow has been observed, usually from inside an aircraft flying over the Earth.


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