| − | As told in [[Genesis]], a '''rainbow''' is a promise from [[God]] to [[Noah]] (and all mankind) that he will never flood the [[Earth]] again.<ref>Genesis, chapters 5-9</ref> Although modern science has attempted to explain rainbows as reflection of light off of water in the air, they have never been able to explain why they appear AFTER a storm, or why you can never find the end of the rainbow (because the rainbow is a circle, and does not touch the ground).<ref>[http://www.porterfieldsfineart.com/josephholodook/images/leprechaun72.jpg]</ref> The current theory only accounts for why you can sometimes see a rainbow in the summer when you are washing your dog using a hose with your thumb in the opening. | + | As told in [[Genesis]], a '''rainbow''' is a promise from [[God]] to [[Noah]] (and all mankind) that he will never flood the [[Earth]] again.<ref>Genesis, chapters 5-9</ref> Although science can explain the appearance of rainbows accurately as the result of refraction and multiple reflections of sunlight in droplets of water, it has difficulty explaining why they seem beautiful and evoke such feelings of awe and mystery. |
| | + | Rainbows appear when raindrops are lit by direct sunlight, a condition that rarely occurs during a storm because the clouds block the sun. Rainbows are frequently seen after a storm, when the falling rain has moved into the distance and the sun is roughly behind the observer when the observer is facing the patch of rain. |