NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, United Kingdom – A rainbow may appear as though it is a half circle, with the middle showcasing its colors across a blue landscape of the sky. However, this common weather phenomenon is actually a full circle.
Skydivers in the United Kingdom captured stunning views, showing the true shape of a rainbow from thousands of feet up in the sky.
A rainbow is created with a few main ingredients including, rain, sun and angle alignment. These create the reflection and refraction needed for these beautiful arcs. From the ground, you only see the top part of the circle because the rest is blocked by the ground.
Recently, a group of skydivers in the United Kingdom captured a rain “circle” in its true form as they tumbled toward Earth. The video above was taken by Paul Dewery with Sky Langer after his skydiving group jumped out of a perfectly good airplane above Nottinghamshire on Sept. 13.
Skydivers dropping to Earth near a rainbow in its true form.
(Paul Dewey via Storyful)
Dewey’s footage shows the perfect circle rainbow with the British countryside below and the blue sky above. At one point, the skydivers look like they will drop right down through the middle of the rainbow.
WHY IS THERE A HALO AROUND THE SUN?
If you look closely, this is a double rainbow circle, which is expected because all rainbows have a second rainbow from light refracting twice inside each raindrop.
The best part? The skydivers landed safely to share this video with those of us too scared to jump out of a plane.
