Ireland is renowned for its gorgeous scenery, delightful towns, and abundant cultural heritage. However, did you know that this small nation is also home to a natural wonder that is truly enchanting? We’re referring to Ireland’s “rainbow” ice crystal clouds.

These clouds, also known as polar stratospheric clouds or nacreous clouds, develop in the stratosphere, which is the Earth’s atmospheric layer situated between 10 and 50 kilometers above the surface. They are composed of tiny ice crystals that refract sunlight in a way that makes them appear iridescent and multicolored.

Incredible time-lapse footage taken throughout Ireland captures stunning starry skies, breathtaking sunsets, and beautiful vistas. Though clouds are well-known for having silver linings, many of the fluffy formations seen hovering over Ireland earlier this week were also tinged with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

These colorful clouds, scientifically known as iridescent clouds, have been spotted in various parts of Ireland on Monday and Tuesday. Many people shared their awe-inspiring moment on social media platforms. However, Joana Doppelly from Met Éireann had a less magical explanation for these clouds. The iridescent clouds are caused by low winter sunlight bouncing off small ice crystals in the clouds and scattering light to create a similar pattern to rainbows, but in a much weirder pattern. While they may look great, they are just an optical illusion, much like rainbows. The clouds were more prevalent yesterday, but they can still be seen today as we are in the same weather flow.

Although the explanation is disappointingly simple, seeing these clouds in Ireland is still somewhat rare. The clouds must be at just the right height, contain just the right amount of wispy-ness (not the technical term), and be hit at exactly the right angle by the sun. They are mostly visible in the hour after dawn and the hour before sunset and are most common in the winter months closer to the North Pole.