Heads up on Rainbows

Rainbows are polarized - rotating a polarizing filter shows that the only light coming from a rainbow has an electric field oscillating at 90 deg to the rainbow.

Note the Mie scattering white under cloud "holding up the rainbow" is also removed.

The US navy has an excellent article showing the size and uniformity of drops determine the number of rainbow cycles ROYGBIV-ROYG... occur in a rainbow

Q How many pots of gold?
A 2 on the horizon at +/- 38 deg from viewer

Q. Where are they?
A. Step 10 m to the side and see where the lines intersect. They are skew due to the radius of curvature of the earth, so they point they come closest is probably the viewer, meaning the pot of gold is probably the maths you have just done.



These rainbow Mie scattering clouds most days at around 4 pm over the Blue Mountains, when viewed from Penrith. You need polarized sunnies.

I'm as terrible as everyone else not seeing them. I first saw the rainbow in CsS film in 2006, then it was 2008 when I first spotted one.