National Find a Rainbow Day Apr 3, 2025

National Find a Rainbow Day

Have you ever spotted a rainbow and felt a little lucky? National Find a Rainbow Day, celebrated today, is all about looking to the sky for that magical mix of sun and rain. Nature"s color wheel has long been linked to myths and legends, from Norse gods to the Irish leprechaun"s pot of gold. But beyond folklore, the science behind rainbows is just as compelling. The first real explanation came from Theodoric of Freiberg, a German physicist, in 1304. He discovered that rainbows form when sunlight enters a raindrop, bends, reflects inside, and then bends again as it exits. This process splits light into its colors, creating the spectrum we see. The classic "ROYGBIV" (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) doesn"t tell the whole story—rainbows contain millions of colors blended together.

© Frank Staub/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Apr 3, 2018The village of Castelluccio above the Piano Grande, Umbria, Italy
Apr 3, 2019Dark skies over New Mexico
Apr 3, 2020The rainbow connection
Apr 3, 2021A light at the edge of the world
Apr 3, 2022Lake Tai s cherry trees in bloom
Apr 3, 2023National Find a Rainbow Day
Apr 3, 2024Find a Rainbow Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 16, 2022Prince Christian Sound in southern Greenland
Jun 8, 2025World Oceans Day
Jan 18, 2022Winnie-the-Pooh Day
Sep 7, 2023Camels in the desert, United Arab Emirates
Apr 10, 2024Siblings Day
Sep 21, 2024Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany
Feb 13, 2021Four little birds sitting in a tree…
Jun 17, 2025Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
May 15, 2018Celebrating the UN’s International Day of Families
Apr 3, 2018The village of Castelluccio above the Piano Grande, Umbria, Italy
Jun 27, 2022Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France
May 2, 2024Craters of the Moon centennial
Sep 22, 2018Time for brass bands and beer
Nov 8, 2022Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Oct 11, 2020A monastery in the mountain
Apr 28, 2021Coming home to roost
Feb 9, 2022Ceremony Hall at Sweden s Icehotel
Aug 25, 2022National Park Service Founders Day
Jul 19, 2019A place fit for the gods
Jan 20, 2024Penguin Awareness Day
Nov 15, 2025Irohazaka Road in fall, Nikko, Tochigi, Japan
Mar 13, 2023National Napping Day
Jan 14, 2021Summer huts in winter
Jul 10, 2020Italy s submerged village
Jul 24, 2025Happy Cousins Day!
Aug 17, 2022Freshwater plants in Aquário Natural, Brazil
Sep 1, 2024Totally Thames Festival, London
Aug 9, 2018Ruins of Inca temples and terraces on Huayna Picchu, Peru
Nov 19, 2020That bill s just not going to fit
Sep 16, 2024Wallabies at sunrise, Australia