Last week a picture was taken near Long Island, New York, of what appears to be a quadruple rainbow. We've all seen pictures of double rainbows, but what makes this picture special, is in it appears to be four different rainbows.
My first thought was that the photo had to be photoshopped, but the photographer assured me that the photo is real. Amanda Curtis, CEO and Co-founder of nineteenthamendment.com, says she was waiting for a train when the rainbow came into view.
After doing a little research, I think I can explain exactly what's going on in this picture.
First off, this picture was taken early in the morning, around 6:30 a.m. when the sun was still relatively low to the horizon.
Next, it was shot in the city of Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island with water all over the place. When the sun was rising in the east, this picture was taken facing the west most likely over water.
I think this picture has two sets of double rainbows. While one set was made the traditional way, the other was made from a "separate sun," or the sun reflecting off the water and back into the rain. The result are two double rainbows from two different light sources.
Picture being on the water on a clear, calm day. When you look toward the sun, you see the main light from the sun as well as a second sun reflecting off the water. I believe it's that secondary light off the water that created a separate double rainbow.
One thing to note: a rainbow is really a circle that gets cut off by the ground. If you look at the original picture you can see the first, primary, rainbow, and the secondary.
I looked online and found a few other picture of a quadruple rainbow, so it's certainly not the first time it's been captured. Bottom line, it's not photoshopped, it's real. It's just a really rare, really cool picture.
