A British landscape photographer captured a stunning image of a rare weather phenomenon Sunday known as a “fogbow” – a colourless rainbow over a moor in Scotland.
Melvin Nicholson explained on social media that he was venturing out with a fellow landscape photographer when he saw an “unbelievably beautiful white rainbow” in Rannoch Moor, about 160 kilometres north of Glasgow.
The stunning image shows the colourless rainbow arching over a lone tree in the snow-covered moor.
“As soon as I saw this wonderful isolated windswept tree, I knew that it had to be framed by the fog bow,” Nicholson wrote on social media. “Freshly fallen snow set the scene all around. It was just beyond magical and one of those days that you’ll remember for a long time to come.”
What is a “fogbow”?
The weather phenomenon is known as a fogbow, which NASA describes as “a reflection of sunlight by water drops similar to a rainbow but without the colours.”
According to the space agency, the fog itself is not “confined to an arch” and the shape is created by the small water droplets “with the best angle to divert sunlight to the observer.”
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“The fogbow’s relative lack of colours are caused by the relatively smaller water drops,” according to NASA.
Speaking with a BBC radio show, the photographer said his image has captured worldwide attention and has been overwhelmed by the attention his picture as received.
“My world has gone crazy these last 24 hours ever since I shared the fog bow image on social media,” Nicholson told BBC Radio 2. “It all seems a bit weird to be honest. “Sometimes you can spend hours setting up a shot and it doesn’t work. This one happened fairly quickly.”
Though fogbows are somewhat rare, the colourless rainbow can appear anywhere during a damp, foggy day and are visible when the sun is at the observer’s back.
Photographer Lynn Bystrom captured this image of a fogbow in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park in 2013.
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