reply to post by constantwonder
Since the sun's light is being refracted by the clouds in each of these instances, Alot of this is optical. You can prove that by looking at the
ROYGBIV coloration.. Just as it would occur if you refracted the light with a prism.
Thus, the clouds are not exactly irridescent or giving off their own light. They are simply refracting sunlight passing through them. If you were to
look at the cloud from a different angle, the colors could be invisible. It would be a simple white cloud. Thus, the location of the observer with
relation to the light source is always important in such optical phenomenon. Much like rainbows (which occur in falling rain and usually only when
the rain is between you and the sun).
What we're seeing with the coloration is much different than what you would see with actual irridescent clouds which usually only give off a limited
range of coloration. Not the entire spectrum.
-ChriS
|
