secondary rainbow

noun
1.
a faint rainbow formed by light rays that undergo two internal reflections in drops of rain, appearing above the primary rainbow and having its colors in the opposite order.
Origin
1785-95
Examples from the web for secondary rainbow
  • Since a small amount of energy is lost in the second reflection, the secondary rainbow is never as brilliant as the primary one.
  • The primary rainbow is the more prominent one inside, and the secondary rainbow is the fainter one outside.
  • The secondary rainbow is the result of two refractions and two internal reflections of the sunlight by the rain drops.