Rainbow

A rainbow is a curved band of colors that appears in the sky when sunlight shines through water droplets in the air. Rainbows usually show up after a rain shower, when the sun comes back out while drops are still falling. They can also appear in mist near waterfalls, in fountains, or even in the spray from a garden hose.

A rainbow has seven colors, always in the same order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Many people remember the order with the name ROY G. BIV.

The colors come from sunlight itself. Sunlight looks white, but it is really a mix of every color blended together. When a beam of sunlight enters a raindrop, the drop bends the light and splits it into separate colors. The light bounces off the back of the drop and bends again on the way out. Millions of raindrops doing this at the same time make the giant arc you see.

A rainbow always appears on the side of the sky opposite the sun. To find one, stand with the sun behind you and look toward the rain.

You can never reach the end of a rainbow. As you move, the rainbow moves too, because it depends on the angle between the sun, the drops, and your eyes. The pot of gold stays in the story.