# Why does a rainbow appear

Original narration draft for an illustrated science mini-documentary

Why does a rainbow appear after a shower? Sunlight enters water droplets, bends, reflects inside them, and bends again as it leaves. Different wavelengths bend by different amounts, spreading the light into colors. To see the bow, the Sun is behind you and sunlit droplets are in front. The familiar arc is part of a circle; the right viewpoint can reveal more of it. These graphics explain the idea. They are illustrations, not footage of a measured weather event.

## Production status

This is a script and storyboard package, not a finished narrated film. Runtime and caption timing must be set against the final exported narration. The graphics are schematic and not a ray-traced optical simulation.

## Source references

- NOAA NESDIS: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/k-12-education/optical-phenomena/what-causes-rainbow
- USGS Water Science School: https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/rainbows-water-and-light

Checked November 4, 2026. Institutional explanatory sources, not measurements made for this production. No third-party source photographs reused.