---
title: "What causes a double rainbow?"  
description: "What causes a double rainbow?"  
author: "Erick Wilsom"  
published: 2023-10-19  
updated: 2023-10-19  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/103938/what-causes-a-double-rainbow  
category: "science"  
tags: ["science"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# What causes a double rainbow?



## Answers

### Answer by Saumya Mishra

**Double rainbows are formed when [sunlight](https://www.mindstick.com/news/2153/research-to-cool-earth-by-reflecting-back-sunlight-is-being-advanced-by-the-white-house) is reflected twice within a raindrop with the violet [light](https://www.mindstick.com/news/1842/daylight-reproduces-more-accurately-by-the-leds-smart-lighting-system-based-on-quantum-dots) that reaches the [observer](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/2193/how-are-observer-and-observable-used-in-java)'s eye coming from the higher raindrops and the red light from lower raindrops.**

**Rainbows form whilst daylight passes via raindrops inside the** [**sky**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/100597/which-gas-makes-up-most-of-the-earth-s-atmosphere)**. The light is bent (or refracted) when it enters the raindrop, and however when it leaves the raindrop. This separation of the mild into its exceptional colorations is called dispersion.**

- **The hues of a rainbow are** [**constantly**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/100583/which-country-is-known-as-the-land-of-the-rising-sun) **in the same order, from red on top to violet on the lowest. This is because red light has the longest** [**wavelength**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/100589/what-is-the-world-s-largest-mammal-living-in-the-ocean) **and violet light has the shortest wavelength.**
- **To shape a double rainbow, a number of the sunlight that is refracted in the raindrop displays off again of the raindrop and then refracts once more because it leaves the raindrop. This [reflection](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/221/attributes-reflection) creates a secondary rainbow above the [primary](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/213/keys-in-database) rainbow.**
- **The secondary rainbow is fainter than the number one rainbow due to the fact some of the mild is misplaced in every mirrored image. The secondary rainbow additionally has the [colors](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/300985/what-your-clothes-reveal-about-you-psychologically) reversed, with violet on top and purple on the lowest.**

***Here are a few additional details about double rainbows:***

* Double rainbows are continually fainter than single rainbows, due to the fact some of the light is lost in every mirrored image.

* The secondary rainbow is continually above the number one rainbow, and it has the colors reversed.

* Double rainbows are much more likely to be visible after a thunderstorm when the air continues to be full of [water](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/323154/fluoride-in-your-water-filtration-guide-2020) droplets.


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Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/103938/what-causes-a-double-rainbow

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