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How Real Rainbows Form
Now you can explain exactly how a rainbow forms in the sky!
1. Sunlight (white light) shines through the air
2. The light enters millions of raindrops
3. Inside each raindrop, the light REFRACTS (bends) and separates into colors
4. The light reflects off the back of the raindrop
5. The light refracts again as it exits the raindrop
6. Each color exits at a slightly different angle
7. Your eyes see all those colored lights from millions of drops as a rainbow arc
You always see a rainbow as an arc (part of a circle) because of the geometry of the light bouncing inside the drops. If you were in an airplane, you could see a complete circular rainbow!