Can Planes Fly Through a Rainbow? What You Need to Know

Rainbows are among nature's most lovely phenomena, appearing as if painted in the sky. They create a sense of magic.  Rainbows are not just beautiful but are also governed by particular optical principles. This raises a question: Can planes fly through a rainbow? The answer is no. This blog will talk about the science behind rainbows and why planes can't fly through rainbows.

A rainbowis formedwhen light enters water droplets in the atmosphere. The light is refracted, then internally reflected inside the droplet, and finally refracted again as it exits the droplet. This procedure splits the light into its constituent colours, making a circular arc of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

• Refraction Angle: Light exits the water droplet at around 42 degrees relative to the sunlight.
• Colour Separation: Every colour exits the droplet at slightly diverse angles, with red at about 42°and violet around 40°.
• Observer-Specific: The rainbow appears only at a specific angle from the observer’s eye; therefore, no two individuals see the same rainbow.

One of the most important points to understand is that a rainbow has no fixed location. Unlike a mountain or a cloud, a rainbow does not exist at a specific point in space. For the reason that it depends completely on the observer’s viewpoint, the sunlight angle and the water droplets’ location, a rainbow is constantly relative to the individual seeing it.

From the plane’s cockpit, particularly during or after rain, pilots and passengers might see bright rainbows. Since aircraft frequently fly above or within rain clouds, passengers from time to time witness full circular rainbows, something impossible from the ground, where the Earth blocks the bottom of the circle.

With the movement of the plane, the angles between the sun, rain droplets and the eyes of the observer change. This causes the rainbow to shift or disappear instead of allowing the plane to pass through.  It is not possible to fly through a rainbow because it is a perception, a trick of light and geometry.

Pilots see rainbows during flights, particularly when there is scattered rain and sunlight. Here are some of the observations of the pilots:

• Circular Rainbows:  These are often observed from the cockpit or passenger windows; these complete rings can be fairly striking. They are called “pilot’s rainbows.”
• Glories: Looking straight opposite the sun, particularly over clouds, pilots may see a glory, a series of coloured rings surrounding the shadow of the aircraft.  Though it is not a rainbow, it’s frequently mistaken for one.

At an altitude of around 35,000 feet, a plane travelling at 550 mph might appear to chase a rainbow. Still, since the optical spectacle is tied to the angle of an observer, the rainbow will continuously stay the same distance and orientation from the viewer.

Billions of tiny water droplets create rainbows, each one refracting and reflecting light. The cumulative effect of these tiny reflections forms the rainbow. When you move, the droplets accountable for the precise angles also change, and new droplets contribute to a new rainbow.

• No Fixed Position: A rainbow is not fixed in one place; people can approach it.
• Observer-Dependent: Your position regulates which droplets reflect the correct light to your eyes.
• Continuously Shifting:  With the movement of the plane, the light reflection angle changes, changing the shape and position of the rainbow.It’s not like flying through a cloud. Once the viewpoint is changed enough, the rainbow disappears.

Yes, rainbows can be simulated in controlled environments:

• Water mist and sunlight: Garden sprinklers or misting fountains can produce rainbows when backlit.
• Artificial rainbows: Scientists use lasers and controlled water droplets in labs to study the principles of rainbow formation.

You can’t “enter” the created rainbow, as is the case with a natural rainbow; it is always a visual illusion.

So, planes can't fly through a rainbow, not because of technical limitations, but because a rainbow is an optical illusion caused by the contact of sunlight and water droplets, observed from a specific angle and not a physical object. Aeroplanes can fly near the moisture and light conditions that create rainbows. Pilots can even see full circular rainbows or the shadow of the aircraft surrounded by glories. But the rainbow always remains just out of reach.

It is now clear that aeroplanes cannot fly through a rainbow, so as a pilot, you should not try the same, as it is not possible. If you want to become a pilot, join us at Flapone Aviation, one of the most famous pilot training institutes in the country.