Here’s What a ‘Quadruple Rainbow’ Looks Like

1 minute read

Amanda Curtis, CEO of Nineteenth Amendment, a company that showcases works by emerging fashion designers, tweeted a photo of what appears to be two double rainbows that she says she saw from the Long Island Rail Road station in Glen Cove, N.Y.

Spotting this rare condition has seemed less like chasing rainbows since a German rainbow hunter’s photos of “triple” and “quadruple” rainbows appeared in the scientific journal Applied Optics. Raymond Lee, a professor of meteorology at the U.S. Naval Academy, argues the phenomenon is more likely to be seen when there are a lot of dark clouds in the background or when rain drops of the same size are falling — basically “absolutely pouring” conditions, National Geographic reports.

Aurora Borealis 1953

Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Aurora Borealis 1953
The aurora borealis, a.k.a., the northern lights, northern Canada, 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
LIFE photographer J.R. Eyerman on assignment in Canada, keeping his camera operable in the freezing cold while photographing the Northern Lights in 1953.
LIFE photographer J.R. Eyerman on assignment in Canada, keeping his camera operable in the freezing cold while photographing the Northern Lights in 1953.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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