The sky over Jonggol, Indonesia, briefly looked like something out of a fantasy film as a towering cloud lit up in pastel shades, creating a rare iridescent effect that reportedly stopped traffic while onlookers pulled out their phones to capture the scene.
What viewers saw was not a digital trick or a traditional rainbow, but an uncommon cloud display caused by sunlight interacting with tiny droplets or ice crystals, according to WABC meteorologist Lee Goldberg, as cited by Popular Science.
The cloud appeared over the city southeast of Jakarta, where footage showed bands of vivid color shimmering across part of a large cloud formation.
Goldberg said the colors are easiest to see when something partly obscures the sun, such as a mountain or a denser cloud. That partial blockage can reduce glare enough for the rainbow-like colors to become more visible to people watching from the ground.
The moment stood out because iridescent clouds are relatively rare and often short-lived, making them easy to miss unless the lighting and cloud structure align just right.
As Goldberg put it, "These vibrant displays usually appear near the sun and can last for only a few moments — making them a truly magical sight for anyone lucky enough to catch them."
Ida Pramuwardani, Acting Director of Public Meteorology at the Indonesian climate agency BKMG, told Detik News that the cloud seen in the video was a towering cumulus formation obscuring part of the rainbow.
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In translated comments cited by Popular Science, Pramuwardani said that if towering cumulus clouds cover only part of the rainbow, the shape can appear broken and resemble a "rainbow cloud." That helps explain why the colors appeared attached to the cloud rather than arcing across the sky.
These clouds are not by themselves a direct sign that a storm is coming in. They are more likely to indicate that convective clouds are developing and that rain could begin soon. For everyday observers, that means the display is both a visual treat and a subtle weather clue — beautiful to look at, but also a sign to stay aware of changing conditions if you are out on the road or planning time outside.
Commenters on Goldberg's reposted footage of the rainbow cloud were appropriately astonished by the meteorological phenomenon.
"Is that another dimension?" one user questioned.
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"This is something from mother nature that we don't see often. Thank you so very much for sharing," another said.
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