Ukrainian polar explorers showed a rare white rainbow

Ukrainian polar explorers recorded a rare atmospheric phenomenon – a white rainbow near the Akademik Vernadsky station.

This was reported by the National Antarctic Science Center.

The photo was taken by Zoya Shvydka, a biologist on the 30th Antarctic Expedition.

Scientists explained that a white rainbow is caused by very small water droplets, in which light is not broken down into colors as in a regular rainbow.

In larger droplets, the light is split into a spectrum, and each color propagates separately – that’s why we see a bright multi-colored arc. As the droplets get smaller, the light beams mix through diffraction, and the colors gradually disappear.

As a result, the rainbow appears white or almost colorless.

Sometimes faint shades may appear on its edges – orange on the outside and purple on the inside.

This phenomenon is also called a fog rainbow. It occurs when sunlight illuminates a thin mist made up of microscopic water droplets.