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| Rays through raindrops ~
Steinar Midtskogen captured this 200° wide sunset panorama near Oslo, Norway. At left is a sunset reddened primary rainbow with a faint outer secondary. The broad orange glow in the sunward sky is, in part, the 'zero order glow' also from sun touched raindrops. See below for video. ©Steinar Midtskogen, shown with permission |
| Zero Order Glow Most sun rays pass through raindrops without making an internal reflection. These rays have no minimum deviation angle and do not form a distant caustic sheet. Instead of a rainbow there is a beautiful orange glow that suffuses the sky. Whenever there is something spectacular in the sky check the opposite direction. |
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| Primary & secondary bows are produced by sunlight reflecting once and twice inside near spherical raindrops. The outgoing rays forming each bow cross one another and form a bright caustic sheet. The sheet is the outer edge of the primary bow and another sheet forms the secondary inner edge. |
   
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