Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol. 48 - The Shadowman In A Halo (The Brocken Spectre Phenomenon)

We're back in action, folks! Did you miss the crazy phenomena lady? 'Cause I just got down to work :P

What would you not expect to see if you went hiking in the mountains? Walking all the way up, the hazy atmosphere full of mist, the sun coming out on your back you take a stop to admire the view. A spooky scenery is unfolded all around you but the spookiest part has yet to come. As your eyes fell on your shadow, you blink. And blink. And blink again.

Image source: commons.wikimedia.org - Creator: Brocken Inaglory- License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Oh, my God! Did I die? Why is there a colorful halo around my head?!

No, you didn't die, relax!

Am I seeing a ghost? Is my brain deprived of oxygen and I started hallucinating? Did you give me drugs on the way up?

All three negative.

Then what is that? Do I need an eye doctor?

All you need is your camera to take a picture of this unique and rare phenomenon called the Brocken spectre.

But it doesn't look broken to me :P

Ha! Good one (not). The Brocken spectre (or Brocken bow or mountain spectre) took its name from the highest peak in Harz Mountains (Northern Germany). It is nothing more than a stupendous optical illusion, the viewer's shadow appears magnified thanks to the water droplets in the air and a rainbow-like ring appears usually around the head.

Cool! And how does it happen?

When the observer has their back turned towards the sun and there is mist or fog, the shadow casted on the water droplets appear bigger than it normally should. Another reason for this is the fog blocking the rest of the view in front of you; without reference points, it's easy to get confused. The water droplets in the air also confuse the observer's depth reception enhancing the illusion. [1]

The rainbow halo is nothing more than... a rainbow. Well, actually this is a glory phenomenon. The glory is almost like a rainbow of a smaller scale, which might appear in a ringed form. The mechanism is not exactly the same. We need the Sun (or why not the Moon) low in the horizon on the observer's back [3, 5]. Next, we need clouds of mist or fog right opposite the light source in a straight line. That's why the observer needs to stand on a high point like the peak of a mountain, because the phenomenon in viewed below their viewing horizon (almost at the point of their head's shadow) [2]. 

The main, but not the only, process involved here is wave tunneling (after analysis, tunneling turned out to be the dominating effect). Whereas during a rainbow effect, the light hits the water droplets, in a glory effect it only passes very close to it and creates electromagnetic waves within it. As those waves move around inside the droplet, they finally manage to tunnel out and move rays of light in the direction which they came from. The splitting of light happens due to the wavelength-dependent routes the electromagnetic waves follow within the droplet [6].

If the circumstances are right, a glory and a rainbow might appear together [2]. Just like with rainbows, each observer can see one and only Brocken spectre, their own [5]. 

Can I only see it up in the mountains?

The glory phenomenon can be seen even from inside a plane. When the plane is flying relatively low so that it casts its shadow on the clouds, the glory rings seem to circle it [2].

Image source: commons.wikimedia.org - Creator: Brocken Inaglory- License: CC BY-SA 3.0 

References

1: wikipedia.org-Brocken_spectre
2: wikipedia.org-Glory_(optical_phenomenon)
3: atoptics.co.uk
4: earthsky.org
5: weatheronline.co.uk
6: nature.com

Thank you so much for your time!

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!