EarthSky’s Kelly Kizer Whitt said, “In January 2025, I was hiking in Haleakala National Park in Hawaii when I saw my 1st and 2nd-ever fogbows.” Watch Kelly’s video here or on YouTube.
A fogbow, or white rainbow
Have you ever seen a white rainbow? These colorless rainbows also go by the name fogbow, cloudbow or ghost rainbow. Just as rainbows form from light bending through raindrops, fogbows form from light bending through much smaller droplets of water. The smaller water droplets in fog cause the colors to overlap and blur, giving it the signature white color.
Rainbows happen when the raindrops fill the air. You always see a rainbow in the direction opposite the sun. Fogbows are much the same, always opposite the sun. So if you’re standing near fog and the sun is shining, put your back to the sun and look for a fogbow.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Angie Reagan in South Lake Tahoe, California, captured this image on April 9, 2023. Angie wrote: “I was waiting for this to turn into a rainbow, but I later learned from my friend, Amheric, that this is actually a fogbow and perhaps even more special. On this day, it was just the source of light I needed.” Thank you, Angie!
Look away from the sun and at an angle of 35-40 degrees from your shadow, which marks the direction of the antisolar point [point directly opposite the sun]. Some fogbows have very low contrast, so look for small brightenings in the misty background. Once caught, they are unmistakable.
The sun must be less than 30-40 degrees high, unless you are on a hill or high up on a ship where you can see the mist and fogbow from above.
Fogbows are huge, almost as large as a rainbow and much, much broader.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Sterling Johnson in Madison, Indiana, captured this fogbow on October 21, 2023, and wrote: “I was walking back from the barn and as I looked across the field I saw this white rainbow or fogbow. Its beauty stopped me in my tracks.” Thank you, Sterling!
Fogbow photos from the EarthSky community
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Barb Lambert in Sacramento, California, captured this image on November 7, 2023. Barb wrote: “Saw while on morning walk, never thought I’d see a fogbow. Could see both sides before connecting bow.” Thank you, Barb!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy in Newport, Oregon, caught this image of a fogbow on July 16, 2021. Cecille wrote: “What appears like a white rainbow in this photo is a natural phenomenon caused by fog. Thus it’s referred to as a fogbow. It appears white because the water droplets are much tinier than your average raindrop … Yaquina Head Light is in the upper right. At 93 feet [28 meters], it’s the tallest lighthouse in Oregon. The flowers are fireweed, so named because of their propensity to grow following fires. They are prevalent along the Oregon coast.” Thank you, Cecille!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Gene Peck in Hollywood Beach, California, captured this fogbow on October 31, 2020. Gene said “I was taking a morning walk in a clear sunny sky with an offshore fog bank. Within 20 minutes the fog moved in, enveloping the beach. So I took this facing north-northwest. The fogbow lasted only a minute or 2, before the fog began dissipating.” Thank you, Gene!
More photos of white rainbows or ghost rainbows
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Lowenstein caught this fogbow in Mutare, Zimbabwe, on April 29, 2020. Peter wrote: “Half an hour after the sun rose behind my house, a beautiful fogbow developed in the middle of a misty morning view from my front veranda. All the conditions were right, bright sunshine from the rear with the sun less than 20 degrees above the horizon and clearing clouds of mist at the antisolar point. There’s a beautiful flowering poinsettia to the left, a lush banana grove to the right, and clear blue sky beginning to appear on top!” Thank you, Peter!Alan Nicolle in New South Wales, Australia, captured this image on July 16, 2019. Alan wrote: “I was out geocaching in the outskirts of Broken Hill, when I turned back to see this fogbow developing. I took quite a few photos with the iPhone. Then I rode back to the car on my bike. But, by the time I got back to the car to use my SLR, it had faded.” Thank you, Alan!Greg Diesel Walck wrote in October 2015: “Saw my first fogbow/white rainbow. Photo taken with cell phone. Moyock, North Carolina.” Thank you, Greg!
Cloudbow or fogbow?
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Sheryl R. Garrison caught this bow in Alberta, Canada, on October 26, 2020. Cloudbow or fogbow? Les Cowley of Atmospheric Optics told us: “Technically it is a cloudbow or fogbow. They are exactly the same phenomenon. But cloudbows appear in skies when there is no obvious ground level fog [as in this photo]. These bows with pastel colors and a white center need small water droplets compared to the larger raindrops of rainbows. The humid air suspends the drops. You can sometimes see these bows when the air is freezing if the water drops remain supercooled and do not freeze.”
Bottom line: Have you ever seen a rainbow but without any color? That’s a fogbow, also called a white rainbow or ghost rainbow.
Deborah Byrd
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About the Author:
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky’s website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She’s the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.
