JONGGOL, Indonesia — Residents of a locale outside the Indonesian capital of Jakarta got a glimpse of a breathtaking, multi-colored sight high in the sky earlier this month.
The iridescent cloud materialized over Jonggol on May 1, and you can hear squeals of delight from people witnessing the phenomenon in a video posted by the Weather Channel and others. The cloud is colored in several bright hues of the rainbow — pink, blue, yellow, orange and green — with a backdrop of blue skies, wisps of other clouds and the palms of some sort of palm tree in the foreground.
“Some called it magical. Others thought it looked fake. A few even linked it to conspiracy theories. But according to officials, the phenomenon was very real and entirely natural,” reported India TV.
According to the Canggupedia, a social media network that promotes Bali, an Indonesian island just east of Java, where Jonggol is located, iridescent clouds are “a rare but natural occurrence.”
Clouds form when sunlight passes through tiny water droplets or ice crystals on their periphery. “Diffraction and dispersion occur, meaning the light is bent and spread out into its component colors,” the Canggupedia said. “The result — our eyes see a beautiful display of colors.”
AccuWeather said clouds and the sun have to be positioned just right for iridescence to occur. “As the cloud evolves, the colors change and can quickly disappear,” the weather forecasting firm said in a post of its own.
Whatever the explanation, the post on the Weather Channel prompted plenty of exhortations and exclamations from viewers.
“I’ve seen a small one in Washington state some seven years ago, but this … this is awe-inspiring,” wrote one poster.
“Tell me God ain’t an artist! MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!” wrote someone else.