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Best rainbows on Earth are in Hawaii, scientist says

62 points by macbookaries 6y ago

temptemptemp111 6y ago
This is great news! ;)
Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
I'm happy that somewhere out there there are scientists studying such really important problems.
- 404mm 6y ago
  If Hawaii is the answer, then no matter the question, I’m all about being _that_ scientist.
thaumasiotes 6y ago
Well, of course. No question is more scientific than "which rainbows are better than which other rainbows?"
- drcode 6y ago
  Seems pretty straightforward to scientifically compare the intensity of light emitted/reflected by different rainbows.
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    That doesn't get you to saying that one is better than the other.
    - choward 6y ago
      Right. What if I like the s dim rainbows? All you could say is that Hawaii has the brightest.
- thisisauserid 6y ago
  Isaac Newton would agree with you.
prostoalex 6y ago
In order to avoid the replication crisis that's plaguing the rest of science, where does one submit a grant proposal to independently verify this scientific discovery?
- ronsor 6y ago
  There's only one possible response to such a proposal: "No, we are certainly not giving you a grant so you can take a vacation in Hawaii."
  - pmiller2 6y ago
    I don’t know. Have you seen the locations of some academic conferences?
    - smnrchrds 6y ago
      Relevant comic: http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1335 http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1335
flixic 6y ago
It is so frustrating to get "Error 403 Forbidden" when visiting from EU. Using US VPN, the page loads fine. It's been 3+ years to figure out GDPR stuff. 403 Error with zero apologies is just terrible.
- jtbayly 6y ago
  Yes. I can’t understand why the EU is still threatening US businesses for legal US practices either. Seems like they would have gotten around to fixing this, but you can certainly try to help it along by complaining to your representatives who made this law and caused this situation.
redis_mlc 6y ago
I used to live in Hawaii. It's normal to see rainbows on a daily basis, and sometimes double-rainbows. Good memories! :)
js2 6y ago
I captured this one in NJ in 2015: https://ibb.co/6rGQvcr https://ibb.co/6rGQvcr (38.993472° -74.839455°) I pulled off the Garden State Parkway to take the picture. It’s the finest rainbow I’ve ever seen. Sadly was unable to find an unobstructed view. There is of course the triple rainbow that famously brought a man to tears in Hawaii a decade ago.
- sammalloy 6y ago
  > There is of course the triple rainbow that famously brought a man to tears in Hawaii a decade ago Are you referring to the late Paul Vasquez's famous viral video? That was filmed outside Yosemite. It was a double rainbow that had a barely perceptible triple rainbow.
  - js2 6y ago
    Oh, I thought that was HI for some reason. I obviously misremembered. Thank you for the correction.
  - guram11 6y ago
    "wait what how???" was my first oblivious reactions to your post before I look up anything, did covid got him too?? :( rip double rainbow guy
    - sammalloy 6y ago
      > did covid got him too?? It's entirely possible, as he died suddenly from Covid-like symptoms just days after taking the test. https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article242633931.html https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article242633931.html
sammalloy 6y ago
My guess is that "best" describes the ease and frequency of sighting rainbows. Businger explains this is because orographic precipitation, climate, and clear line of sight due to terrain, make it highly likely to spot a rainbow at least twice a day (early morning and an hour or so before sunset), when the sun is 38 degrees above the horizon on either side of the island. This means you should be able to sight a rainbow closer to the windward side of the island in the morning, and another rainbow closer to the leeward side in the late afternoon. When you take all of these factors into account (more are described in the article), Businger's claim isn't so far off. Given the right conditions, is there anywhere else in the world where you can spot at least two different rainbows every day like clockwork?
Disgardia 6y ago
No matter where it is, rainbows are amazing. Just thinking about how light gets scattered, it's just amazing of universe
ralusek 6y ago
Brother Iz knew the whole time.
wizardofmysore 6y ago
Candidate for Ig Noble award. My rainbow is better than your rainbow

62 points by macbookaries 6y ago

temptemptemp111 6y ago

This is great news! ;)

Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago

I'm happy that somewhere out there there are scientists studying such really important problems.

404mm 6y ago
If Hawaii is the answer, then no matter the question, I’m all about being _that_ scientist.

thaumasiotes 6y ago

Well, of course. No question is more scientific than "which rainbows are better than which other rainbows?"

drcode 6y ago
Seems pretty straightforward to scientifically compare the intensity of light emitted/reflected by different rainbows.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  That doesn't get you to saying that one is better than the other.
  - choward 6y ago
    Right. What if I like the s dim rainbows? All you could say is that Hawaii has the brightest.
thisisauserid 6y ago
Isaac Newton would agree with you.

prostoalex 6y ago

In order to avoid the replication crisis that's plaguing the rest of science, where does one submit a grant proposal to independently verify this scientific discovery?

ronsor 6y ago
There's only one possible response to such a proposal: "No, we are certainly not giving you a grant so you can take a vacation in Hawaii."
- pmiller2 6y ago
  I don’t know. Have you seen the locations of some academic conferences?
  - smnrchrds 6y ago
    Relevant comic: http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1335 http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1335

flixic 6y ago

It is so frustrating to get "Error 403 Forbidden" when visiting from EU. Using US VPN, the page loads fine. It's been 3+ years to figure out GDPR stuff. 403 Error with zero apologies is just terrible.

jtbayly 6y ago
Yes. I can’t understand why the EU is still threatening US businesses for legal US practices either. Seems like they would have gotten around to fixing this, but you can certainly try to help it along by complaining to your representatives who made this law and caused this situation.

redis_mlc 6y ago

I used to live in Hawaii. It's normal to see rainbows on a daily basis, and sometimes double-rainbows. Good memories! :)

js2 6y ago

I captured this one in NJ in 2015: https://ibb.co/6rGQvcr https://ibb.co/6rGQvcr (38.993472° -74.839455°) I pulled off the Garden State Parkway to take the picture. It’s the finest rainbow I’ve ever seen. Sadly was unable to find an unobstructed view. There is of course the triple rainbow that famously brought a man to tears in Hawaii a decade ago.

sammalloy 6y ago
> There is of course the triple rainbow that famously brought a man to tears in Hawaii a decade ago Are you referring to the late Paul Vasquez's famous viral video? That was filmed outside Yosemite. It was a double rainbow that had a barely perceptible triple rainbow.
- js2 6y ago
  Oh, I thought that was HI for some reason. I obviously misremembered. Thank you for the correction.
- guram11 6y ago
  "wait what how???" was my first oblivious reactions to your post before I look up anything, did covid got him too?? :( rip double rainbow guy
  - sammalloy 6y ago
    > did covid got him too?? It's entirely possible, as he died suddenly from Covid-like symptoms just days after taking the test. https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article242633931.html https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article242633931.html

sammalloy 6y ago

My guess is that "best" describes the ease and frequency of sighting rainbows. Businger explains this is because orographic precipitation, climate, and clear line of sight due to terrain, make it highly likely to spot a rainbow at least twice a day (early morning and an hour or so before sunset), when the sun is 38 degrees above the horizon on either side of the island. This means you should be able to sight a rainbow closer to the windward side of the island in the morning, and another rainbow closer to the leeward side in the late afternoon. When you take all of these factors into account (more are described in the article), Businger's claim isn't so far off. Given the right conditions, is there anywhere else in the world where you can spot at least two different rainbows every day like clockwork?

Disgardia 6y ago

No matter where it is, rainbows are amazing. Just thinking about how light gets scattered, it's just amazing of universe

ralusek 6y ago

Brother Iz knew the whole time.

wizardofmysore 6y ago

Candidate for Ig Noble award. My rainbow is better than your rainbow