Why a fire sky burns
At sunrise and sunset, light travels through far more atmosphere than it does at midday. That longer
path scatters away the blue and green wavelengths, leaving the deep reds and oranges to carry on and
light up the clouds overhead.
The role of cloud height
Clouds act as a screen for that low-angle light. When they sit too low or hang too thick, the colour
never reaches them. At the right altitude, with clear air to the west, they catch fire — which is why
the best skies often come on days that look unremarkable until the last few minutes.
A question of timing
The window is short — usually the half hour around the sun crossing the horizon. The light builds,
peaks, and fades quickly, so being in place a little early makes all the difference.
How a sea of clouds forms
On clear, calm nights, valley floors radiate their heat away and cool quickly. That cold, heavy air
sinks and pools at the bottom, trapping moisture into a shallow layer of low cloud — while the peaks
and ridges above stay clear, floating over a white ocean.
Why height matters
The trick is to be above the cloud layer but not so high you lose it. Viewpoints that sit just over the
top of where the cold air settles tend to offer the best chance — close enough to look down on the sea,
high enough to stay out of it.
What makes a rainbow
A rainbow appears when sunlight passes into raindrops, bends, reflects off the back of each drop, and
bends again on the way out. Every colour leaves at a slightly different angle, which is what spreads
white light into the familiar arc.
Where to look
Rainbows always sit opposite the sun, so the rule of thumb is simple: keep the sun at your back and
look toward the falling rain. They show up best when the sun is low and a passing shower is lit from
the side — that brief gap after the rain, before the clouds close back in.
Reading the night sky
The bright heart of the Milky Way — the galactic core — is only above the horizon for part of the year,
and even then it is easily washed out by moonlight and city glow. Seeing it well is mostly about
choosing the right night and the right place.
Darkness, moon, and season
Three things line up on the best nights: a sky far from artificial light, a moon that is new or already
set, and a time of year when the core rides high. Get those together and the band of the galaxy goes
from a faint smudge to something you will not forget.