what causes eyes to see arcing color rainbows
Rainbows can be full circles. However, the average observer sees only an arc formed by illuminated droplets above the ground, and centred on a line from the sun to the observer's eye. In a primary rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted when entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it.