stunning arc caused by midnight sun ``


Myth has it that at the end of every rainbow sits a leprechaun who will tell you where to find a pot of gold.

But while there's no imp in sight in these stunning shots of a midnight rainbow photographed near the Arctic Circle, there's a definite golden glow where the arc meets the ground.

The pictures were taken in northern Finland, where the summer sun never sets and the light was still strong enough to form a rainbow in the middle of the night.

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Pot of gold: Stunning images taken of a rainbow caused by the midnight sun reveal a golden glow where the arc meets the horizon



Photographer Mika-Pekka Markkanen said the rainbow was still visible at 3am in Kuusamo just 37 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

He said: 'These pictures were taken just before midnight, but this lovely rainbow appeared on the evening sky at 10pm in Kuusamo, Finland.

'I've never seen a rainbow that tall. And a funny thing is that it was still there when I was on my way home at 3am, so it was also the longest lasting rainbow I've ever seen.

'The sun doesn't set here on the verge of the Arctic Circle at this time of year, it just hangs low in the midnight sky.'

But despite the golden glow cast by the midnight sun, the photographer says he didn't find an actual crock of gold.

'I never did find the pot of gold at the rainbow's end though.'


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Somewhere over the rainbow: This picture was taken in northern Finland, where the summer sun never sets and the light is still strong enough to form a rainbow in the middle of the night