Breathtaking double rainbow graces the sky over a tiny Nevada town following storms

By Snejana Farberov
PUBLISHED: 05:15, 15 July 2012 | UPDATED: 05:31, 15 July 2012
Residents of Searchlight, Nevada, who have faced drenching monsoon storms have been rewarded with a spectacular light show in the sky in the form of a double rainbow on Friday.

The drenching downpours caused a section of Nipton Road to buckle up due to a flash flood, but the town’s 539 inhabitants were then treated to a sight of the colorful arcs that appeared in late afternoon over the highway.

The traditional rainbow appears when sunlight is spread out into its spectrum of colors – from red to violet - and diverted to the eye of the observer by rain droplets.

Spectacular sight: A double rainbow appeared after heavy monsoon storms over Nipton Road in Searchlight, Nevada

But on rare occasions, two rainbows can be seen in the sky simultaneously - like it happened in Nevada.

In a double rainbow, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colors reversed. Instead of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, the outer edge starts with violet followed by indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.

The phenomenon occurs when a part of a ray of sunlight that enters inside a raindrop is reflected for a second time in the droplet before exiting it, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Natural phenomenon: In a double rainbow, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colors reversed

The most common type of rainbow is called the primary rainbow and is produced by one internal reflection.

The secondary rainbow arises from two internal reflections and the rays exit the drop at a higher angle than the primary bow.
Double rainbows carry profound meaning in eastern cultures, symbolizing transformation, according to the website Basic Feng Shui. The material world is represented by the first arc, while the second arc is the spiritual realm.

Symbol of change: In eastern cultures, a double rainbow represents a transformation, and seeing one is considered a good sign

In Chinese culture, red is symbolic of the feet and violet represents the head. So a primary rainbow appears to illustrate a human descending from heaven.

Since the secondary arc has reversed colors, with red on the bottom and the violet on top, it represents the ascending from the material earth to heaven. Therefore, seeing a double rainbow is considered a very auspicious occasion.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2173779/Pictured-Breathtaking-DOUBLE-RAINBOW-graces-sky-tiny-Nevada-town-following-drenching-monsoon-storms.html#ixzz20jBdn55P