In a world where it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between something AI-generated and the real thing, it’s no wonder we’re all a little skeptical of things that are too good to be true, including the beautiful “rainbow cloud” videos that have recently gone viral. But as it turns out, they are very real.
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On April 1, a colorful cloud was spotted over Jongor, Indonesia, catching the attention of people in the area who began sharing photos and videos of the unusual phenomenon on social media. These quickly received far more views than your average sunset photo, along with suggestions as to why.
On TikTok’s cloud post, one commenter joked, “Zara Larsson just filming her new music video,” while another told people to “watch out for Mario falling from the sky in a cart.”
Additionally, some questioned the authenticity of the video, wondering if it was created using artificial intelligence. But in this case, the rainbow cloud show was an illustration of an optical phenomenon known as cloud iridescence.
Cloud iridescence typically occurs in altocumulus, cirrocumulus, lenticular, and cirrus clouds. This requires two main elements. sunlight and small water droplets or ice crystals of relatively uniform size within clouds. The clouds containing these tiny particles also need to be thin, and the sun needs to be at a certain angle.
This is often understood correctly and also explains why this phenomenon is relatively rare. But when everything falls into place, the sun’s rays hit a few droplets or crystals at a time and are scattered (the proper term for this is diffraction). Collectively, this produces the spectacular array of colors seen in the iridescence of clouds.
Atmospheric water droplets and ice crystals are also responsible for many of the other colorful phenomena that grace Earth’s skies, including the psychedelic polar stratospheric clouds seen over the North Pole in winter, the eerie Pilot’s Glory, and the circumhorizontal arc, often (incorrectly) known as the “Rainbow of Fire.”
Pastel candy-colored clouds aren’t just limited to Earth. Thanks to dry ice, or frozen carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere, they can also appear on Mars in the form of amazing noctilucent clouds. These “night clouds”, which can also be seen on Earth, are high in the atmosphere and appear when the sun is just below the horizon.
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