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Is it possible to see rainbows in space?
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QFX
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#1 - 2011-12-26 06:14:14 UTC
Id like to see rainbows
Vito Tattaglia
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#2 - 2011-12-26 06:15:36 UTC
Doubt it, since there's no precipitation in space.
QFX
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#3 - 2011-12-26 06:24:05 UTC
Vito Tattaglia wrote:
Doubt it, since there's no precipitation in space.


hmmm
Khamelean
Bricks in the Sky
#4 - 2011-12-26 06:25:55 UTC
You can see rainbows from space, but not in space.
DelBoy Trades
Trotter Independent Traders.
Disaster Strikes
#5 - 2011-12-26 06:37:39 UTC
I suppose scattered ice/crystal particles in space may be able to refract white light in a similar way to moisture does in an atmosphere. So maybe it could happen, just speculation though.

Damn nature, you scary!
Surfin's PlunderBunny
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#6 - 2011-12-26 06:49:42 UTC
Rainbow in space

"Little ginger moron" ~David Hasselhoff 

Want to see what Surf is training or how little isk Surf has?  http://eveboard.com/pilot/Surfin%27s_PlunderBunny
Tarsas Phage
Sniggerdly
#7 - 2011-12-26 07:03:59 UTC  |  Edited by: Tarsas Phage
In RL, I do quite a bit of amateur astronomy and astrophotography, so I'll take a serious stab at this question even though I've never considered it before myself.

Rainbows in space could conceivably be possible if you had a dense enough cloud of fine water-ice particles present to diffract light from a star, moon, or planet. It probably wouldn't be as vivid or look like a curved rainbow as we know them here on earth. It would likely look more like the phenomena known as a Sun Dog, which is caused by a blanket of high-altitude ice crystals which subtly diffract, but mostly diffuse light coming from the sun in the background.

But yeah, to have something as vivid as a earthly rainbow with clear color separation throughout the visual spectrum, the water droplets would need to be liquid, and therefore regularly round, and fine enough to cause an equivalent effect - which, as someone already points out, isn't quite possible in space because it's a chilly place. Crystalline water-ice doesn't quite have the same properties in that respect.

EDIT: You might realize that the key here is to have something diffracting the source light, like a prism. Diffraction happens in a lot of places in space in fact. One good example is when there's a lunar eclipse, which if you've seen one before, turns the face of the moon orange-red to deep crimson. The cause of this is sunlight being diffracted by earth's own atmosphere as the earth moves directly between the moon and sun - the long wavelengths (red) pass through earth's atmosphere whereas the shorter wavelengths of sunlight (towards the blue end) are scattered or absorbed. If you were standing on the moon and looked at the earth during a lunar eclipse, you would see a black disk (night side of earth) with a red ring around it (the atmosphere)
rodyas
Tie Fighters Inc
#8 - 2011-12-26 07:06:50 UTC
Of course you can see rainbows in space, why else would unicorns migrate to space so often, if there weren't rainbows.

Signature removed for inappropriate language - CCP Eterne
Xearal
Dead's Prostitutes
The Initiative.
#9 - 2011-12-26 08:32:28 UTC
Tarsas Phage wrote:
Scientific stuff about rainbows


Actually.. have you considerd that there's other liquids that could create this effect? I mean, a cloud of liquid helium for instance, which is perfect possible in space, BECAUSE of the 'temperature problem' over there, could create a similar effect as water droplets in earth's atmosphere.

Does railgun ammunition come in Hollow Point?
Solhild
Doomheim
#10 - 2011-12-26 08:32:58 UTC
It would be possible. Light behind you, suitably diffuse refracting cloud in front of you returning light back. Would most likely be a circle of course. Not sure about the unicorns.
Saint Schala
Beyond Divinity Inc
Shadow Cartel
#11 - 2011-12-26 09:01:56 UTC  |  Edited by: Saint Schala
Xearal wrote:
Tarsas Phage wrote:
Scientific stuff about rainbows


Actually.. have you considerd that there's other liquids that could create this effect? I mean, a cloud of liquid helium for instance, which is perfect possible in space, BECAUSE of the 'temperature problem' over there, could create a similar effect as water droplets in earth's atmosphere.



liquid helium is imposable in space/vacuum it would evaporate into a gas as the pressure differential inside the helium and in the vacuum are different.

in fact any liquid non metal is imposable in space due to this, so sorry no rainbow,

also the refraction index of helium is different so wouldn't split light the way a prism (raindrop) does here on earth,

water has unique property's rainbows are one of them

EDIT: also for those talking about rainbows from clouds in space, most clouds in space are caused by dust/gas you need large liquid drops for a rainbow, gas/dust cant refract light, only reflect it
baltec1
Bat Country
Pandemic Horde
#12 - 2011-12-26 09:06:51 UTC
Saint Schala
Beyond Divinity Inc
Shadow Cartel
#13 - 2011-12-26 09:12:21 UTC
baltec1 wrote:
Rainbow


ok you win
QFX
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#14 - 2011-12-26 09:14:37 UTC
Tarsas Phage wrote:
In RL, I do quite a bit of amateur astronomy and astrophotography, so I'll take a serious stab at this question even though I've never considered it before myself.

Rainbows in space could conceivably be possible if you had a dense enough cloud of fine water-ice particles present to diffract light from a star, moon, or planet. It probably wouldn't be as vivid or look like a curved rainbow as we know them here on earth. It would likely look more like the phenomena known as a Sun Dog, which is caused by a blanket of high-altitude ice crystals which subtly diffract, but mostly diffuse light coming from the sun in the background.

But yeah, to have something as vivid as a earthly rainbow with clear color separation throughout the visual spectrum, the water droplets would need to be liquid, and therefore regularly round, and fine enough to cause an equivalent effect - which, as someone already points out, isn't quite possible in space because it's a chilly place. Crystalline water-ice doesn't quite have the same properties in that respect.

EDIT: You might realize that the key here is to have something diffracting the source light, like a prism. Diffraction happens in a lot of places in space in fact. One good example is when there's a lunar eclipse, which if you've seen one before, turns the face of the moon orange-red to deep crimson. The cause of this is sunlight being diffracted by earth's own atmosphere as the earth moves directly between the moon and sun - the long wavelengths (red) pass through earth's atmosphere whereas the shorter wavelengths of sunlight (towards the blue end) are scattered or absorbed. If you were standing on the moon and looked at the earth during a lunar eclipse, you would see a black disk (night side of earth) with a red ring around it (the atmosphere)



Do you think theres rainbows here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scientist-discover-the-oldest-largest-body-of-water-in-existence-in-space

?
Abrazzar
Vardaugas Family
#15 - 2011-12-26 09:30:25 UTC
If you pop a pod with tachyons, the pod goo will form a evaporation cloud that will display at a certain moment in the dispersion under a certain angle a truly beautiful rainbow.

Sovereignty and Population

New Mining Mechanics
RubyPorto
RubysRhymes
#16 - 2011-12-26 10:09:51 UTC
QFX wrote:


Do you think theres rainbows here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scientist-discover-the-oldest-largest-body-of-water-in-existence-in-space

?



No. It's nowhere near a dense enough cloud to form droplets of liquid water. That formation roughly rounds down to a vacuum as far as particle density. It's just an ENORMOUS area of space.

Now, as for rainbows in space, again no. A rainbow is an optical effect produced by droplets of light acting as a prism. So a valid interpretation of the location of the rainbow is in your retinas. You can't see them from space (I think; there might be some conditions where the sun, cloud, and astronaut are at the right angles).

If you define the location of the rainbow as the vapor cloud, then no, that's not going to form in space.

"It's easy to speak for the silent majority. They rarely object to what you put into their mouths." -Abrazzar "the risk of having your day ruined by other people is the cornerstone with which EVE was built" -CCP Solomon
QFX
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#17 - 2011-12-26 10:13:41 UTC
RubyPorto wrote:
QFX wrote:


Do you think theres rainbows here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scientist-discover-the-oldest-largest-body-of-water-in-existence-in-space

?



No. It's nowhere near a dense enough cloud to form droplets of liquid water. That formation roughly rounds down to a vacuum as far as particle density. It's just an ENORMOUS area of space.

Now, as for rainbows in space, again no. A rainbow is an optical effect produced by droplets of light acting as a prism. So a valid interpretation of the location of the rainbow is in your retinas. You can't see them from space (I think; there might be some conditions where the sun, cloud, and astronaut are at the right angles).

If you define the location of the rainbow as the vapor cloud, then no, that's not going to form in space.


Care to explain in detail? Im getting amuzed
RubyPorto
RubysRhymes
#18 - 2011-12-26 10:18:13 UTC
QFX wrote:
RubyPorto wrote:
QFX wrote:


Do you think theres rainbows here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scientist-discover-the-oldest-largest-body-of-water-in-existence-in-space

?



No. It's nowhere near a dense enough cloud to form droplets of liquid water. That formation roughly rounds down to a vacuum as far as particle density. It's just an ENORMOUS area of space.

Now, as for rainbows in space, again no. A rainbow is an optical effect produced by droplets of light acting as a prism. So a valid interpretation of the location of the rainbow is in your retinas. You can't see them from space (I think; there might be some conditions where the sun, cloud, and astronaut are at the right angles).

If you define the location of the rainbow as the vapor cloud, then no, that's not going to form in space.


Care to explain in detail? Im getting amuzed


The space lake (from the article):
"It is not as if you’d have to wear foul-weather gear if you could visit this place in space, however. The distances are as mind-bogglingly large as the amount of water being created, so the water vapor is the finest mist--300 trillion times less dense than the air in a typical room."

Since you need a cloud dense enough to form droplets of some minimum size to form rainbows, that's not going to happen there.


As for the mechanics of a rainbow, that's better explained by pointing you to the wikipedia article on rainbows and letting you come back with specific questions if you don't understand something.

"It's easy to speak for the silent majority. They rarely object to what you put into their mouths." -Abrazzar "the risk of having your day ruined by other people is the cornerstone with which EVE was built" -CCP Solomon
QFX
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#19 - 2011-12-26 10:25:00 UTC
RubyPorto wrote:
QFX wrote:
RubyPorto wrote:
QFX wrote:


Do you think theres rainbows here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scientist-discover-the-oldest-largest-body-of-water-in-existence-in-space

?



No. It's nowhere near a dense enough cloud to form droplets of liquid water. That formation roughly rounds down to a vacuum as far as particle density. It's just an ENORMOUS area of space.

Now, as for rainbows in space, again no. A rainbow is an optical effect produced by droplets of light acting as a prism. So a valid interpretation of the location of the rainbow is in your retinas. You can't see them from space (I think; there might be some conditions where the sun, cloud, and astronaut are at the right angles).

If you define the location of the rainbow as the vapor cloud, then no, that's not going to form in space.


Care to explain in detail? Im getting amuzed


The space lake (from the article):
"It is not as if you’d have to wear foul-weather gear if you could visit this place in space, however. The distances are as mind-bogglingly large as the amount of water being created, so the water vapor is the finest mist--300 trillion times less dense than the air in a typical room."

Since you need a cloud dense enough to form droplets of some minimum size to form rainbows, that's not going to happen there.


As for the mechanics of a rainbow, that's better explained by pointing you to the wikipedia article on rainbows and letting you come back with specific questions if you don't understand something.


Thank you, much appreciated.
So does it mean ccp will never put rainbows in space around the planets??
Ingvar Angst
Nasty Pope Holding Corp
#20 - 2011-12-26 15:08:25 UTC
QFX wrote:
RubyPorto wrote:
QFX wrote:
RubyPorto wrote:
QFX wrote:


Do you think theres rainbows here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scientist-discover-the-oldest-largest-body-of-water-in-existence-in-space

?



No. It's nowhere near a dense enough cloud to form droplets of liquid water. That formation roughly rounds down to a vacuum as far as particle density. It's just an ENORMOUS area of space.

Now, as for rainbows in space, again no. A rainbow is an optical effect produced by droplets of light acting as a prism. So a valid interpretation of the location of the rainbow is in your retinas. You can't see them from space (I think; there might be some conditions where the sun, cloud, and astronaut are at the right angles).

If you define the location of the rainbow as the vapor cloud, then no, that's not going to form in space.


Care to explain in detail? Im getting amuzed


The space lake (from the article):
"It is not as if you’d have to wear foul-weather gear if you could visit this place in space, however. The distances are as mind-bogglingly large as the amount of water being created, so the water vapor is the finest mist--300 trillion times less dense than the air in a typical room."

Since you need a cloud dense enough to form droplets of some minimum size to form rainbows, that's not going to happen there.


As for the mechanics of a rainbow, that's better explained by pointing you to the wikipedia article on rainbows and letting you come back with specific questions if you don't understand something.


Thank you, much appreciated.
So does it mean ccp will never put rainbows in space around the planets??


Not necessarily... keep in mind it's a game. They've taken "liberties" with physics already, there's no reason that if they wanted to they could do so and write it off to some unknown phenomena that scientists are studying.

Six months in the hole... it changes a man.
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