Atmospheric phenomenon: Rare red rainbow dome seen in skies above Birmingham, UK

Red rainbows are an extraordinarily rare sight, with Deborah Byrd writing in earthSky.org that she’s only seen the phenomenon once despite “decades of sky watching.” Abigail’s clip was uploaded onto YouTube by paranormal channel “Disclose Screen The Grimreefar” where it sparked dozens of wild theories. One suggested that the “matrix was breaking,” in reference to the blockbuster film where humans live in a simulation and the world is run by machines.

Another Brummie commented: “I’m from Birmingham too, and I live nine floors up in a tow” A red rainbow occurs when the sun looks very low in the sky, close to the horizon, and there is the right volume of water droplets for light to be reflected, refracted and dispersed. When the sun appears to be lower in the sky, light travels a longer distance through the atmosphere which gives rise to the red appearance of sunsets because the shorter wavelengths – blue, green, and yellow – are scattered leaving mostly red hues. –Daily Star