Photographer Captures Rare Shot Of A ‘Horizontal Rainbow’ That Filled The Whole Sky

Apr 30, 2020 by apost team

Nature photographer Cessna Kutz was at her house in Bellevue, Washington when she captured a breathtaking shot of a ‘horizontal rainbow’ that filled the whole sky.

"This beautiful and unique horizontal rainbow I took from my house overlooking Lake Sammamish in Bellevue, WA," she says on her website. 

"I had never witnessed such a phenomenon before and I am grateful to have been at the right place at the right time with my camera in hand. I feel blessed to be able to share this moment of hope with the world!"

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The name for this optical phenomenon is called 'circumhorizontal arc'. In its full form, like this one, the arc has the appearance of a large, brightly spectrum-coloured band (red being the topmost colour) running parallel to the horizon, located far below the Sun or Moon.

It is often inaccurately referred to as a 'fire rainbow', although it is neither a rainbow nor related in any way to fire. For the halo to form, the sun must be very high in the sky, at an elevation of 58° or more with cirrus cloud or haze containing relatively large plate-shaped ice crystals. Simply put, Cessna was indeed at the right place at the right time.

"To me, it was a reminder that God has this under control and we need to hold onto hope and love instead of fear and panic in these unknown times." she captions the post.

Cessna has many other beautiful photos in her portfolio such as a wallpaper-perfect shot taken at Tipsoo Lake, Mount Rainer National Park as well as one taken in Granite Falls, Washington on a foggy morning.

Have you ever seen a 'horizontal rainbow'? Post your photos in the comments if you have and pass this along to your friends and family to remind them just how beautiful nature is.