Rainbow cloud spotted in Indonesia stuns the Internet: What is it and how is it formed? Check details
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What is a rainbow cloud?
Rainbow clouds form when sunlight passes through tiny water droplets or ice crystals of almost the same size in the form of thin clouds. These particles refract, bend, and split light into its component colors, creating a shimmering, prism-like effect.
The viral video of the striking ‘rainbow cloud’ showed a massive cloud formation surrounded by streaks/linings of various colours, from bright pink greens to deep blues. The image shows a sky scene with a large, towering cloud formation against a dark blue background. Local media reported that traffic near the town of Jonggol was temporarily stopped due to the incident. Last week social media was full of clips of iridescent clouds over Bekasi and parts of Bogor Regency.
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How is a rainbow cloud formed?
“This phenomenon occurs when sunlight passes through tiny water droplets or ice crystals in clouds.
If clouds are thin and located close to the Sun or Moon, the light “splits” into different colors, creating bright, iridescent rainbow-like patterns,” a post on X reads.
A common atmospheric phenomenon
“The phenomenon seen in the video is a common atmospheric phenomenon related to atmospheric optics,” BMKG Acting Director of Public Meteorology Ida Pramuwardani told Mehza.
“Rainbow colors, as in the video, appear due to the interaction of sunlight with water droplets in the air, both from ongoing rainfall and the rain currently falling on the other side of the Sentul neighborhood,” Ida said. he added.
The meteorologist explained that the cloud in the video was a high cumulus cloud that blocked part of the rainbow, giving it a unique appearance. The colors come from the iridescence of the clouds, sometimes called “rainbow clouds” or “fire rainbows.” “Instead, the rainbow cloud, which some have compared to Mario Kart, indicates that convective clouds have formed and rain may be imminent,” the meteorologist said.
Netizens’ reaction
“These are called halos and they are not very rare. Some forms are much rarer than others. It is difficult to classify this one because it is behind the storm cloud-like cloud,” said one netizen. Another asked: “Rainbow clouds in the sky… are they real or just an illusion?” he asked.
Read another comment: “Nature shows its magic 🌈✨ Rare, beautiful and a reminder of how stunning science can look in real life.” “Oh my god….. This is so beautiful,” said another.
“This is very impressive, a real rainbow cloud painting the sky like a masterpiece, it almost looks too perfect to be real. Have you ever seen anything like this in person before?” one user wrote in the comments section.
“That’s a chem trail around a cloud. That’s a death rainbow, by the way,” another user added.
“Wow, this is so impressive! This is a perfect iridescent cloud (cloud iridescence) – sunlight refracted through small, uniform water droplets or ice crystals at the cloud edges. Nature’s own prism! Absolutely magical. Thanks for sharing this beauty of Jonggol,” added a third user.
