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Inspired by an answer this question:

However, Rav Yonason Eibshitz in his sefer Yaaros Dvash (chelek 1:drush 12) explains in the name of the Zohar Hakadosh that there are two types of rainbows. There is one which has many stripes of color (the one we see commonly) and then there is the rainbow which is completely blue (techeiles color). He explains that the blue one is the rainbow that is zocher habris because techeiles is from the lashon of kilyon (destruction).

A side note: The Ben Ish Chai parshas Eikev 17 writes that from this drush from Yaaros Dvash it would appear that one should not make a bracha on a colored rainbow since only the blue one is the reminder.

Saying a blessing on a rainbow requires one to see it. What does the blue rainbow refer to physically?

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Searching for “blue rainbow” revealed this article in the Express newspaper, Jun 18, 2015 .

There was a “blue rainbow” photographed over Mount Kinabalu on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia after a recent earthquake.

A villager told a local newspaper: "The sky was bright as if there was a rainbow, but unlike a rainbow, it was all striking blue. We have not seen anything like this before." Although the rainbow only lasts a short while they are a striking blue colour, according to many observers.  According to experts, the generation of this light involves the ionization of oxygen in some types of rocks due to high stress before, during and after earthquake and other seismic activities.

The article shows that this blue rainbow was produced by seismic activity and not by a flood.

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  • Interesting. But I wouldn't really call that bow-like.
    – user6591
    Oct 29, 2015 at 2:37
  • Two possibilities come to mind. Firstly, a secondary rainbow. The colours are faint and under some circumstances maybe blue could be dominant. Secondly a halo round the moon, which has a bluish tinge.
    – Epicentre
    Oct 29, 2015 at 7:33
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enter image description here I have seen a blue rainbow. it's shoot is not perfect but I see it was a blue rainbow.

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  • This looks more like a shadow than a rainbow.
    – bondonk
    Nov 24, 2020 at 14:18

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