Upside down rainbow seen just before China Quake

In summary: I live in a part of the world that gets a lot of rain (Seattle area). I see these "sun dogs" very frequently, but I never knew they had a name.
  • #1
Ian
88
1
I've just seen footage on U-Tube of a strange rainbow seen in the clouds just before the Quake last week. The colours are in reverse order to the usual after-shower rainbow.

My mind tells me that if the colours are reversed then the source of the radiation must be from the opposite direction, i.e., not from the Sun above but from the Earth below.
I would liken this to the visual effect we see if we bend a plastic ruler, if the effect in plastic is 'visual' it must certainly relate to e-m radiation, perhaps the Earth under enormous stress also experiences a change in emissions that might be used to forecast these devastating events?

Any ideas or comments?
 
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  • #2
Strong electro magnetic emissions are a common pre-cursor to Earthquakes which presumably is responsible for this effect. Japan has being doing research in this area in a bid to provide earlier and more accurate predictions of earthquakes.
 
  • #3
Someone posted about this in another thread somewhere. It isn't actually a rainbow (they thought it was an aurora, and it isn't that either), just something similar. Though Art is right and there may be some EM effects happening in conjunction with earthquakes, this phenomena looks like an ordinary sundog to me (and therefore unrelated to the earthquake).

Chinese phenomena:
Sundog: http://www.orbwar.com/sundog-patterns-rainbow.htm [please ignore the rest of the crackpot site - this is a superb example of a sundog]
 
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  • #4
russ_watters said:
this phenomena looks like an ordinary sundog to me (and therefore unrelated to the earthquake).
Russ is right. There are some pretty colorful atmospheric events from time to time, and this appears to be one of them.

Having viewed a LOT of EM events (aurorae) over the years, I can testify that they are best viewed when perfectly dark-adapted and even then the colors are not real vivid. Seeing ionized gases in the atmosphere in the day-time is a real stretch.
 
  • #5
Oh wow, I think that is pretty amaizing. Have we ever had something like that in the US?
 
  • #6
mcknia07 said:
Oh wow, I think that is pretty amaizing. Have we ever had something like that in the US?
Probably about every day, it happens somewhere! It's just a matter of the weather. I've seen them.

Here's more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog
 
  • #7
I have never saw one, I really want to, i bet they are beautiful
 
  • #8
Just imagine how Hagee would analyze that one. Kind of like Hurricane Katrina assuming the shape of a fetus before hitting Louisiana. LOL
 
  • #9
I saw this happen to a small cloud (here in the U.K) on my way home from work a couple of months back. The 1st and only time I've ever seen such a thing.
 
  • #10
I live in a part of the world that gets a lot of rain (Seattle area). I see these "sun dogs" very frequently, but I never knew they had a name. Cool!
 

1. What is an upside down rainbow?

An upside down rainbow, also known as a circumzenithal arc, is an optical phenomenon that occurs when sunlight is refracted through ice crystals in the atmosphere, creating a colorful arc that appears to be inverted.

2. Why was an upside down rainbow seen before the China Quake?

An upside down rainbow can be seen before a quake because the shifting of tectonic plates can cause changes in the atmosphere, including the formation of ice crystals, which can create the conditions for an upside down rainbow to appear.

3. Is an upside down rainbow a warning sign of an earthquake?

No, an upside down rainbow is not a reliable warning sign of an earthquake. While it may be seen before some earthquakes, it is not a consistent or scientifically proven predictor of seismic activity.

4. What other natural phenomena have been observed before earthquakes?

Other natural phenomena that have been observed before earthquakes include changes in animal behavior, gas emissions, and changes in groundwater levels. However, these are also not reliable predictors of earthquakes.

5. Can studying upside down rainbows help predict earthquakes?

There is currently no scientific evidence to suggest that studying upside down rainbows can help predict earthquakes. Earthquake prediction is a complex and ongoing area of research, and while some natural phenomena may be observed before earthquakes, they are not reliable predictors.

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