A man has captured a stunning image of a full circle rainbow after six months of pursuit. The weather phenomena was recently photographed by Gareth Ellidge over Marl Wood, in Llandudno Junction.
And it was a double celebration for Gareth. Not only did he catch an amazing image of the this wonderful weather phenomena and shared it for all to see, it comes as his Facebook Group Welsh Skies by Gareth, which photographs fantastic aerial views of the beautiful Welsh countryside, hit 1,000 members.
In a Facebook post on his site, Gareth said: "After 6 months of pursuit, I finally captured this rare phenomenon: a full-circle rainbow over Marl Wood in Llandudno Junction! This unique aerial perspective, a sight rarely seen from a drone, marks a double celebration for me.
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"Not only does this image showcase the elusive beauty of a full-circle rainbow, but it also coincides with reaching 1k members in our Welsh Skies by Gareth drone group. Grateful for the journey and the incredible support from our growing community. Thank you."
Speaking about full circle rainbows, a Met Office spokesman said: "To be able to see a full circle rainbow you need to be able to see water droplets below your observable horizon - if you are standing on top of a tall building or looking out of an aircraft then you may have water droplets and sun."
What is a full circle rainbow?
The key factor that determines how much of a rainbow we see is our visual reference point. In most cases we only see less than half of a circle - the characteristic rainbow arc we are all familiar with.
However, if you are lucky enough to be in the right position at the right time, you can see a full circle rainbow in all its splendour. A rainbow's centre is directly opposite the position of the sun in the sky, so more of a rainbow can be seen as the sun approaches the horizon.
Therefore you will normally see the greatest percentage of a rainbow (50%) at sunrise or sunset.
How full circle rainbows are formed
To be able to see a full circle rainbow you need to be able to see water droplets below your observable horizon. If you are on the ground you are very unlikely to be in the optimum position to see the rest of the rainbow - except for full circle rainbows that appear in, for example, the mist given off by a garden hose or sprinkler.
However, if you are standing on top of a tall building or looking out of an aircraft then you may have water droplets and sunlight below your observation point. If conditions are exactly right, that gives you the opportunity to see the rainbow in its entirety.
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