Book 7, Question 108
Why Can’t You Walk to the End of a Rainbow?
You can't walk to the end of a rainbow because a rainbow isn't a place. It depends on where you stand and where the Sun is. When you move, the rainbow seems to move with you.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 7
More fun facts
- Two people standing in different places see the rainbow's ends land in different spots.
- The center of a rainbow is always straight opposite the Sun from where you stand.
- A rainbow you see may come from raindrops in a storm far away.
- The colors come from sunlight reflecting and bending inside the raindrops, not from anything at the end of the arc.
- Rainbows are a kind of spectrum, the same thing scientists study when they split starlight with telescopes.
Sources: NASA, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
Does everyone see the same rainbow?
No. Each person sees a rainbow in a slightly different spot, depending on where they stand.
How far away is a rainbow?
The raindrops making it can be in a storm far away.