# Can rainbows cross, like an X **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-rainbows-cross-like-an-x/128000 "2002-09-11T18:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KXL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@KXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KXL)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-rainbows-cross-like-an-x/128000/1 "2002-09-11T18:42:59Z")
Is it possible to see two rainbows crossing each other, like an x? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-rainbows-cross-like-an-x/128000/2 "2002-09-11T18:52:50Z")
Sure, if you have two suns. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-rainbows-cross-like-an-x/128000/3 "2002-09-11T18:59:03Z")
There are a lot of interesting rainbow effects. I don’t know of rainbows _crossing_, but you can see two rainbows that _meet_. This happens if you have two rainbows – one due to the sun, and the other due to the reflection of the sun in, say, a lake. So you do have “two suns”, as **Nametag** suggests. They meet at the horizon, so unless you’re in an elevated position, you won’t see them cross. Rainbows from nearby sources (two streetlamps, for instance) might be seen to cross. For info on rainbows, see M. Minnaert’s **The Nature of Light and Color in the Open Air** , R.A.R. Tricker’s **Introduction to Atmospheric Optics** , Greenler’s **Rainbows, Halos, and Glories** , and Jearl D. Walker’s **The Flying Circus of Physics**. William B. Corliss’ **Handbook of Unusual Phenomena** lists a lot of anomalous rainbows, but take it with a grain of salt – some of hos “unexplained” phenomena have been explained long ago. Others are seeming errors, and others, tantalizingly, may be real or may be erroneous reports. There are also a lot of great photos on websites. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-rainbows-cross-like-an-x/128000/4 "2002-09-11T20:25:24Z")
> [@](#): > > They meet at the horizon, so unless you’re in an elevated position, you won’t see them cross. If the reflecting surface is horizontal, at least (like a lake). I’ve heard reports, though, of rainbows from all sorts of reflective surfaces, including the windows of a building. In that particular case, they were too far apart to cross, but one can imagine similar circumstances where they would ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-rainbows-cross-like-an-x/128000/5 "2002-09-11T21:53:17Z")
Perhaps if you had one caused by the direct rays of the sun and the other caused by a reflection (at a very shallow angle) off the side of a large glazed building. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2002, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-rainbows-cross-like-an-x/128000/6 "2002-09-12T11:38:07Z")
It occurs to me that, even without reflection at odd angles from buildings or whatever, it’s still possible to have rainbows that cross. If you have a primary rainbow due to light from an image of the sun from a horizontal mirror behind you (like a still lake surface), it can meet and cross the _secondary_ rainbow from the direct sunlight. There have been several reports, sketches, and pictures of such a reflected rainbow “connecting” the primary and secondary rainbows, but I’m not aware of any that cross the secondary. But it’s certainly possible. Incidentally, even though the reflected rainbow has the same diameter as the unreflected bow, its unusual position and )often\_ limited extent lead people to see it as straight, and people often report a straigh “rainbow pillar” rising from one foot of the non-reflected rainbow.