Yes, double rainbows essentially "mirror" each other in terms of their color order.
When a double rainbow appears, it's formed by sunlight reflecting twice inside raindrops. Here's a breakdown:
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Primary Rainbow (Inner Bow): This is the brighter, more common rainbow. The colors are arranged in the familiar order: red on the outside, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet on the inside.
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Secondary Rainbow (Outer Bow): This rainbow is fainter and has its colors reversed compared to the primary rainbow. This reversal happens because the sunlight undergoes a second reflection within the raindrops. So, the color order is reversed: violet on the outside, followed by indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red on the inside.
Because the color order is reversed in the secondary rainbow compared to the primary rainbow, it's accurate to say they mirror each other. The arrangement is like a reflection of the primary rainbow's color spectrum.
In summary, the key difference between a primary and secondary rainbow is that the light creating the secondary rainbow reflects twice within the water droplet. This extra reflection is what causes the colors to invert, creating the mirrored effect.
