Paging Bill Nye! Vol. 2

[c9]

On my flight from Montréal -- whose airport has gotten more than a little depressed of late -- to Charlottetown -- whose airport gives a bit of a chuckle to frequent international travelers, I'd wager -- a curious sight could be seen.

Once above the clouds, with the sun shining on us from the right, I could see a circular rainbow (actually three complete cycles of the light spectrum) on the clouds opposite the sun. I hypothesize that the plane was causing a slight diffraction of the sunlight, which was pretily projected on the clouds below and to the left of us.

But why? I don't completely grasp what the plane was doing, and why it didn't simply project a shadow.

I'm also not convinced that it was projected, since of course rainbows are really the moisture in the air, but clouds are moisture too. Damn the many facets and layers of science! Damn them!

I'm sitting in seat 1A on a CRJ-100. Not the funnest plane around. I always put my winter coat in my checked bag too, so I get to walk to and from the plane in my short-sleeve shirt. Woo!

Comments

[quingawaga.livejournal.com]

All rainbows ARE actually circular, it's only when you get up in an airplane that you can actually see it, though, because on the ground the bottom half of the cirle is blocked by the horizon.

And rainbows always appear opposite the sun. The light rays enter the raindrop and are reflected off the back of it.

[lifein2x3.livejournal.com]

Hah! I was right! :D

[lifein2x3.livejournal.com]

My guess (?) would be that you were seeing the diffraction of light reflecting back at you off the water particles in the atmosphere.

But I have no idea. I got a C in Earth Science in 9th grade. :)

[sarah-sosiak.livejournal.com]

That's sad about Dorval, they were only just fixing it up when we were in school. (I remember the airport looking slightly different every time I flew through it as they upgraded it to take on the International traffic from Mirabel, I think they only finished it in my last year (2001).)

[c9.livejournal.com]

It wasn't really that bad, but it looked... tired. They are still upgrading, including the Maritimes gates, but still.

[sarah-sosiak.livejournal.com]

Is the "Maritimes" gate still the little infield terminal that you get through via a wormhole connection to 1972 underneath the tarmac?

[c9.livejournal.com]

That's the one!

[thespos]

Cool for seeing things pretty. :-)

Things have always seemed really gray when I have flown lately. :-\

And I sympathize about the CRJ-100. I have had to fly on a few of those this past year. Blech.

[quicktongue.livejournal.com]

I'm sitting in seat 1A on a CRJ-100. Not the funnest plane around.

I am actually rather fond of the RJ's. They may only hold 50 people but they can be fast. One got me from YYZ to YOW in 35 Minutes once, and that was gate to gate time.

In the past I worked for Air Canada out of YYZ. Also at this time I was dating someone living in Ohio. I would end my last shift of the week, and get on an RJ. I'd spend my weekend there, and then an RJ would deliver my back to work in time for my first shift. I did that for sevel years.

I miss it somewhat.