NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 4, 2026 features a photograph by John Entwistle of supernumerary rainbows over the Jersey Shore, New Jersey. According to the accompanying explanation, the image was taken in 2018 after the remnants of Hurricane Florence passed over the area. The Sun came out in one direction, and in the opposite direction the photographer and his daughter watched vibrant supernumerary rainbows fade in and out over about half an hour. At least five were captured in the single shot.

The explanation says supernumerary rainbows form only when falling water droplets are all nearly the same size and typically less than a millimeter across. Sunlight then not only reflects inside the raindrops but also interferes, a wave phenomenon compared to ripples on a pond after a stone is thrown in. The explanation notes such rainbows can only be explained with waves, and their reported existence in the early 1800s was considered early evidence of light's wave nature.