35 Free Pictures of Rain and Nature

A pluviophile is someone who loves rain, someone who finds happiness and peace when it’s raining. Not all people appreciate rainy days though, but it’s important to realize that the planet we live in needs rain as much as it needs the sunshine. Besides, #SweaterWeather will never be as cozy and relaxing if there’s no rain.

Did you know that:

• When you look closely, the shape of a raindrop resembles a hamburger bun. 
  
• When a rain drop is formed through water vapor condensation in the cloud, it has a circular shape. As it falls from the sky, its shape becomes less round. Its bottom part gets more flatted like the shape of a burger bun. The change of shape is due to the raindrop’s fall speed.
• Raindrops are rarely equal in size. Several factors affect the size of raindrops, but two locations are key reasons. The site of the cloud that produced the water drop on the globe is one factor; another is the place where the raindrop originates in the cloud.
• Rain brings a specific smell. Its scent is called petrichor. Technically, it is an oil that has been released from Earth. Petrichor is derived from two Greek words: “petra” means stones of the Earth; “ichor” is a Greek mythology term associated with the blood of the gods.
• Crops and plants need rain for many reasons. For one, raindrops have dissolved nitrogen from the air. The chemical element becomes a natural fertilizer that substantially enriches crops and plants. The free nitrogen also makes the grass instantly look fresher and greener once the rain stops.
• Rain is not exclusive to Mother Earth. It also occurs in some planets and moons, but in different forms. For instance, raindrops on Planet Venus are made of sulfuric acid or methane.
• There is such a thing as red rain, which is also referred to as blood rain. This is an event when blood seemingly falls from the sky in rain form. This phenomenon has been documented since the 8th century BC. Blood rain is even mentioned in Homer’s Iliad. Before the 17th century, most people actually believed that the red raindrops were real drops of blood. After several scientific studies, researchers found out that red rain is a result of aerial spores of Trentepohlia annulata, which is green microalgae. Red is not the only unusual color rain can take. Some studies showed findings of yellow, black and green rain, too.

Feel the rain on your skin without actually getting wet with these stunning HD photos of raindrops.