Upside-down rainbow

[Yamadori]

I was standing in my garden looking at clouds and l just saw an upside-down rainbow and can't quite believe it. Towards the west and high up, with some very high wispy cloud there too.

It pretty much disappeared by the time I got my phone out, so no photo, but I looked it up online and apparently it is called a circumzenithal arc.

Wow. Has anyone else ever seen one?

No! How fascinating. The best I have seen is a double rainbow, one under the other.

@DonaldWheresMaTweezers I could hardly believe my eyes, to be honest.

Love the username by the way!

Ha ha, thank you😆

I'm going to be looking out for upside down rainbows now - I had no idea they existed.

Was it a sundog?

@parkezvous No, I've seen those several times before, this was definitely an actual u-shaped rainbow.

Was it the underside of a round rainbow? 🌈

Just looked it up … it’s a thing!

How wonderful!
I saw one on its side, not quite upside down but definitely not the usual way up, it was also quite high up, or was smaller than a usual rainbow.

I’ve seen one before, many years ago. It was astonishing. No idea it was called that, though.

How wonderful. I didn't know these existed. I want to see one now and apparently they are not that uncommon. I will keep my eyes peeled!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35343629

A few months ago I saw London on the horizon driving on the m3 into Basingstoke. London is around 50 miles from Basingstoke. Apparently the phenomenon is called fata morgana, aka superior mirage. Conditions project the horizon into the sky.

Physics is so mad and cool sometimes.

That might have been a sun dog. Usually there are two some distance apart, but sometimes you can only see one of them.

I have just googled this. Absolutely fascinating! I never knew this was a thing……positively blows the mind.