360-degree rainbow captured on video over Waimea Canyon on Kauaʻi

A state helicopter crew recently was treated to a cool phenomenon over Waimea Canyon on Kauaʻi: a full-circle rainbow.

While Hawaiʻi is known as the Rainbow State and has been called the Rainbow Capital of the World, a complete rainbow is a once-in-a-lifetime sight for most people.

However, scientists say 360-degree rainbows are not actually rare, but they are pretty rare to actually see. In its total form, a rainbow truly never ends. People’s ground-based vantage prevents them from seeing the full, colorful circle of refracted light. Most rainbows look like arcs because they’re seen from the ground.

But that was not the case on Feb. 8 for the crew of the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources that flew above the canyon. Their posted video shows the ring of rainbow light that can be seen through the helicopter’s window.