Seeing the headline, I was all prepared to angrily rant against using the term "fire rainbow," since this newly coined, misleading label is for a well known phenomenon that does not resemble a rainbow in either appearance, cause, or position. Then I read the text and saw that the writer correctly identifies it as part of the treasured circumhorizontal arc -- a stunningly gorgeous phenomenon rarely seen from the northern half of the US. So, I've done a "180" and am glad that our knowledgeable writer is helping to popularize this amazing apparition. Despite "fire rainbow" being a recently created term frowned upon by most meteorologists, perhaps (since language does change, after all) it will not only "stick" but help promote awareness of the sky.
Hi -
Seeing the headline, I was all prepared to angrily rant against using the term "fire rainbow," since this newly coined, misleading label is for a well known phenomenon that does not resemble a rainbow in either appearance, cause, or position. Then I read the text and saw that the writer correctly identifies it as part of the treasured circumhorizontal arc -- a stunningly gorgeous phenomenon rarely seen from the northern half of the US. So, I've done a "180" and am glad that our knowledgeable writer is helping to popularize this amazing apparition. Despite "fire rainbow" being a recently created term frowned upon by most meteorologists, perhaps (since language does change, after all) it will not only "stick" but help promote awareness of the sky.