A circular rainbow is not something you often see, but it happened on April 14, triggering a flurry of interest and speculation. It happened during the Postgraduate Open Day taking place at the St. Augustine Campus (see Postgraduate Choices Article) and fortunately, one of the faculty members helping students make their decisions, Professor Ramsey Saunders, a professor of medical physics was on hand to shed some light.
He explained that it is a simple optical phenomenon where light is dispersed by the clouds and because of the dispersion one would see the various colours.
As it was midday, with the sun directly overhead, the symmetry would create a circular rainbow, he said. If the sun were further to the east or the west, the result would be more of an arc, “what we got is a midday rainbow,” he said.
As is typical of the times, several people captured the sight and posted it online, but we particularly liked this one taken by Joshua Brizan from his home in Trincity.
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