Un grand horizontal: Rare FLAT rainbow photographed above the Paris skyline
Horizontal 'fire rainbows' rarely seen in northern Europe but common in U.S.
Appeared in Paris for just five minutes before disappearing again
The view of the Eiffel Tower against the Paris skyline is breathtaking on an ordinary day, but the French capital was recently bathed in a rare horizontal rainbow.
Across the city's horizon a clear spectrum of colours emerged for a short time, in a natural phenomenon known as a fire rainbow.
Parisian Bertrand Kulik, 33, spotted the unusual display out of the window of his apartment in France's capital on March 17.
A horizontal rainbow, known as a fire rainbow, is pictured above the Paris skyline by Parisian Bertrand Kulik
Horizontal rainbows, or circumhorizon arcs, occur when cirrus clouds are elevated enough to form plate-shaped ice crystals
Amateur photographer Mr Kulik said: ‘I have never seen a rainbow like that before. This light phenomenon looked like a rising aurora over Paris.
'When I saw it, I had to react very fast. I was very impressed by this beauty and I knew that I could not miss it.’
The display was only visible for a short time, but Mr Kulik quickly grabbed his camera and captured the rare sight.
Fire rainbows are a common sight in the U.S. but are rarer in northern Europe because the sun is not often at the right angle to create the effect
The horizontal rainbow was brought on by heavy rainstorms abd stormy weather that lashed Paris last week
Headded: ‘It was only possible to see it for few minutes. Often I am waiting to catch some weather pictures. Every day I hope to see some atmospheric phenomenons like that.
‘The day was tormented with a stormy sky. Even in a big city it's possible to see some amazing natural phenomenon.
‘It was a very turbulent day and I will remember it for a long time.’
The horizontal rainbow was brought on by heavy rainstorms that lashed Paris last week.
Firerainbows, known by the proper name of circumhorizon arc, occur when cirrus clouds are far enough up in the air to form plate-shaped ice crystals.
They are not actually rainbows, but a halo effect, although they are commonly referred to as fire rainbows.
When the sun is at the right angle it hits the top of these plates and splits into different colours that are viewable on the ground.
Although such fire rainbows are relatively common in the United States, they are a rarer sight in northern Europe where the sun less frequently has the required elevationneeded for it to occur.
The effect only lasted for a few minutes so Bertrand Kulik acted quickly to capture the skyline vista
Bertrand Kulik captured the dramatic skies of Paris during the storm which led to the rare fire rainbow over the city作者: WuSoLo 時間: 2013-4-6 11:01 PM
一大片圍在城市外圍的彩帶，讓沉悶的石矢森林也穿上彩衣來，增添了不少活力！作者: chowold2 時間: 2013-4-7 12:26 AM
