[1][2] The dark band occurs due to the deviation angles of the primary and secondary rainbows.
Both bows exist due to an optical effect called the angle of minimum deviation.
The fact that this angle is greater than 180° makes the secondary bow an inside-out version of the primary.
Its colors are reversed, and light which is deviated at greater angles brightens the sky outside the bow.
Between the two bows lies an area of unlit sky referred to as Alexander's band.