Pink Rainbow

It only took 54 years to see this phenomenon

I’m told that seeing a pink rainbows is fairly rare. I took this photograph from the cockpit on Avemar while at the Pirate’s Den Marina on Cobb Island, Maryland on August 14, 2022.

Pink rainbows can occur just as a storm passes by a viewer when the sun is very low on the horizon, very late in the day.

Because the sun angle is so low, the rays of sunlight have to pass travel the maximum distance through the atmosphere. This filters out much of the greens, blues and violets in the light leaving the reds, magentas and yellows to make the rainbow appear pink.

In the past I may have seen a pink rainbow but I know I’ve never photographed one before. Until I posted a selfie on Instagram with the rainbow in the background, I didn’t know that these were unusual.

After every storm I’ll be on the lookout now, with my camera in hand!