Despite all the negative consequences of technology on modern living, all these smart devices we own and have at hand all the time are often life-saving and useful.

Moreover, people who have managed to capture unique and captivating moments with their cameras often brighten up our days!

One lovely day back in 2015, while waiting to catch her 6:30 a.m. train to work, Amanda Curtis, a commuter in Long Island, New York, captured a beautiful double-double rainbow curving across the Glen Cove sky, and it fascinated the world!

Curtis, the owner of Nineteenth Amendment, an online marketplace for independent designer fashion in Williamsburg, initially saw the photo as a way to inspire and motivate her coworkers.

“Everyone at the station was looking at the rainbow in one direction, but then I turned the other way and noticed there were four arches. I snapped a picture right before hopping on the train. I barely even had time to process what I saw.”

Yet, the photo immediately went viral, and due to its mesmerizing beauty, many even insisted it had been Photoshopped.

She later explained that it wasn’t an elaborate hoax, and she actually snapped the photo while standing outside, and not behind glass, as some claimed.

When the sunlight is reflected by droplets of water hanging in the air, rainbows are formed. When some of the reflected light is reflected for a second time, we can witness a double rainbow.

A double rainbow is an amazing sight, so can you imagine witnessing a quadruple?

Quadruple #Rainbow at #glencove ny @LIRR station Today will be 4 pots of #gold #lucky #chasetherainbow #aprilshowers pic.twitter.com/4YUUveJuy6

— Amanda Curtis (@amanda_curtis) April 21, 2015

Meteorologists were quick to inform the public that that phenomenon is very rare, but possible. Yet, the one Curtis documented was technically two double rainbows.

Raymond Lee, a meteorologist at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, said:

“What you’re really seeing is two offset double rainbows.”

Triple or quadruple rainbows occur when the already reflected sunlight gets reflected twice or thrice more.

According to scientists, in the last 250 years, there have no verified sightings of actually triple or quadruple rainbows.

Isn’t it magical? 

Regardless, this photo is simply splendid, and symbolizes life and hope!

Paul Neiman, a research meteorologist at NOAA’s Earth System Research Observatory, explains that there must be a large body of tranquil water behind the observer so they can witness the doubly reflected arcs.

He wrote a post on Facebook:

“For the much rarer reflected-light rainbows shown in this spectacular photo, a large glassy-smooth water surface is required behind the observer. This smooth water surface reflects the sun, such that a second solar light source is generated.

This reflected sun, which is located the same the number of arc degrees below the horizon as the real sun is above the horizon, creates a second primary and secondary rainbow on the opposite side of the sky from the sun, but with the center of these reflected-light rainbows above the horizon. The geometry dictates that the regular and reflected-light rainbows will join at the horizon, as this photo shows.”

Sources:
www.newsday.com
www.rt.com
www.nationalgeographic.com