Fogbow

/ˈfɑːɡboʊ/ noun

Definition

A type of rainbow that appears in fog or mist, typically appearing as a white arc due to water droplets being too small to refract light into colors.

Etymology

From 'fog' + 'bow' (an arch or curved shape). This is a descriptive compound created by naturalists to name this optical phenomenon; it mirrors the structure of 'rainbow.'

Kelly Says

A fogbow is like nature's ghost rainbow—it's caused by the same physics as a regular rainbow but the tiny water droplets in fog scatter all colors equally, canceling them out and leaving just white, which is both scientifically fascinating and eerie.

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