Express & Star

Pink rainbow lights up the sky

The unusual phenomenon happens when a rainbow appears during a sunset.

Published
Last updated
Pink rainbow

A pink rainbow lit up the sky on Monday evening.

The rare sight was spotted in Dorset, Somerset and other parts of the UK.

The pink rainbow
The pink rainbow, seen in Beaminster (Lauren Middleton)

Rainbows that appear at sunrise and sunset appear pink because the sun is lower in the sky.

The optical illusion is caused when the colours at the red end of the spectrum are the only ones to be refracted — making the rainbow appear pink.

Angela Taylor spotted the rainbow above Marie Road in Dorchester.

The pink rainbow.
The rainbow above Marie Road, Dorchester (Angela Taylor)

She said: “It was absolutely beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“I thought to myself, this world can be such an ugly place, and then you see something like this.”

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.