Somewhere Under the Rainbows ...

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... is Hammersmith

Amid our recent rainstorms, local photographer Chris Power captured this fantastic picture of the moment the clouds lifted, the sun came out ... and a rare double rainbow appeared in the skies above Hammersmith,

Double or secondary rainbows are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside raindrops in the earth's atmosphere. The colours of a secondary rainbow are inverted compared to the primary bow, with blue on the outside and red on the inside.

The dark area of unlit sky lying between the primary and secondary bows is called Alexander's Band after Alexander of Aphrodisias who first described it.

Disappointlingly, rainbows don't actually exist at a particular location in the sky -  the rainbow's apparent position depends on the positions of the sun and observer - so in real life there are no crocks of gold at either end!

To see the stunning original full size image, plus some of Chris' other shots, visit his Twitpic page.

If you have a great picture of happenings in Hammersmith you would like to share with other local people, send them to editor@hammersmithtoday.co.uk and we will add them to the site.

November 30, 2009