NASA Aqua Satellite Image: Double Rainbow Seen from Space

NASA's Aqua satellite caught an arresting image of a rainbow-like optical phenomenon called a glory over the Pacific Ocean on June 20.

Glories can be seen on Earth with the naked eye when looking down upon fog or water vapor, as when climbing a mountain or looking down upon clouds from an airplane.

The phenomenon is caused by light scattered backward toward the viewer by individual water droplets, producing an oscillating pattern of colors ranging from blue to green to red to purple and back to blue again.

From the ground or an airplane, glories appear as circular rings of color. In the satellite image, the lines of color appear straight against a backdrop of stratocumulus clouds. That's because the satellite takes pictures perpendicular to its path, producing images of horizontal cross sections of the glory rings.