Glory (optical phenomenon)
Encyclopedia
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
's halo
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
about the shadow of the observer's head. The effect is produced by light backscatter
Backscatter
In physics, backscatter is the reflection of waves, particles, or signals back to the direction they came from. It is a diffuse reflection due to scattering, as opposed to specular reflection like a mirror...
ed (a combination of diffraction
Diffraction
Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1665...
, reflection
Reflection (physics)
Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two differentmedia so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves...
and refraction
Refraction
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed...
) towards its source by a cloud of uniformly sized water droplets. The association with a halo is not coincidental, but derivative, though a real glory has multiple colored rings.
The angular size is much smaller than a rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
, about 5° to 20°, depending on the size of the droplets. The glory can only be seen when the observer is directly between the sun and cloud of refracting water droplets. Hence, it is commonly observed while airborne, with the glory surrounding the airplane's shadow on clouds (this is often called The Glory of the Pilot). Glories can also be seen from mountains and tall buildings, when there are clouds or fog below the level of the observer. The phenomenon is related to the optical phenomenon anthelion
Anthelion
An anthelion is a rare optical phenomenon appearing on the parhelic circle opposite to the sun as a faint white halo, not unlike a sundog.How anthelions are formed is disputed...
.
Theory
Glories are not conclusively understood. In 1947, the Dutch astronomer Hendrik van de Hulst suggested that surface waves are involved. He speculated that the colored rings of the glory are caused by two-ray interference between "short" and "long" path surface waves—which are generated by light rays entering the droplets at diametrically opposite points (both rays suffer one internal reflection).Glories are often seen in association with a Brocken spectre
Brocken spectre
A Brocken spectre , also called Brocken bow, mountain spectre or glockenspectre is the apparently enormous and magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun...
, the apparently enormously magnified shadow of an observer, cast (when the Sun is low) on clouds below the mountain the viewer is standing on. The name derives from the Brocken, the tallest peak of the Harz
Harz
The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...
mountain range in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Because the peak is above the cloud level and the area frequently misty, conditions conducive to casting a shadow on a cloud layer are common. Giant shadows that seemed to move by themselves due to movement of the cloud layer (this movement is another part of the definition of the Brocken Spectre), and that were surrounded by optical glory halos, may have contributed to the reputation the Harz mountains hold as a refuge for witches and evil spirits. In Goethe's Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
, the Brocken is called the Blocksberg and is the site of the Witches' Sabbath on Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night is a traditional spring festival on 30 April or 1 May in large parts of Central and Northern Europe. It is often celebrated with dancing and with bonfires. It is exactly six months from All Hallows' Eve.-Name:...
.
Glories in culture
C. T. R. WilsonCharles Thomson Rees Wilson
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, CH, FRS was a Scottish physicist and meteorologist who received the Nobel Prize in physics for his invention of the cloud chamber.- Biography:...
saw a glory while working as a temporary observer at the Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
weather station. Inspired by the impressive sight, he decided to build a device for creating clouds in the laboratory, so that he could make a synthetic, small-scale glory. His work led directly to the cloud chamber
Cloud chamber
The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber, is a particle detector used for detecting ionizing radiation. In its most basic form, a cloud chamber is a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapor of water or alcohol. When a charged particle interacts with the mixture, it ionizes it...
, a device for detecting ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
for which he and Arthur Compton received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1927.
In China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, this phenomenon is called Buddha's light
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
. It was often observed on cloud-shrouded high mountains, such as Huangshan Mountains
Huangshan Mountains
Huangshan , is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. The range composed of material that was uplifted from an ancient sea during the Mesozoic era, 100 million years ago. The mountains themselves were carved by glaciers during the Quaternary...
and Mount Emei
Mount Emei
"峨眉山" redirects here. For the county-level city that Mount Emei is located in, see Emeishan CityMount Emei is a mountain in Sichuan province, China...
. Records of the phenomenon at Mount Emei date back to A.D. 63. The colorful halo always surrounds the observer's own shadow, and thus was often taken to show the observer's personal enlightenment (associated with Buddha or divinity).
Glories in literature
Leo Frankowski made glories a key plot element in his Conrad StargardConrad Stargard
Conrad Stargard is the protagonist and title character in a series of time travel novels written by Leo Frankowski. In them, a Polish engineer named Conrad Schwartz is sent back in time to the 13th century where he has to establish himself and cope with various crises including the eventual...
saga, where the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and title character is sent back in time to the 13th Century where he has to establish himself and cope with various crises including planning for the eventual Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe in 1241. In the third book, The Radiant Warrior, Stargard begins building a modern army and uses the reliable glories along one stretch of his boot camp to invoke religious faith backed esprit de corps and feelings of elite invincibility in his newly forming cadre. The same phenomenon dupes the highly pious heir apparent of the Polish duchy into strongly supporting the new model army's pragmatic departures from the day's chivalristic practices
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
.
This atmospheric effect also makes at least one appearance in Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
. In James Hogg's
James Hogg
James Hogg was a Scottish poet and novelist who wrote in both Scots and English.-Early life:James Hogg was born in a small farm near Ettrick, Scotland in 1770 and was baptized there on 9 December, his actual date of birth having never been recorded...
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, is a novel that was written by the Scottish author James Hogg and published anonymously in...
, George Colwan walks to the top of Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh
Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design". It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle...
on a foggy day, while his half-brother Robert Wringhim secretly follows him with murderous intent. George sees shimmering colored light in front of him. Then he sees the shadow of an enormous dark figure advancing toward him threateningly—the Brocken spectre
Brocken spectre
A Brocken spectre , also called Brocken bow, mountain spectre or glockenspectre is the apparently enormous and magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun...
created by the shadow of Robert sneaking up behind him. In other words, the "good" George is surrounded by a glory, while the "evil" Robert appears as a dark spectre.
See also
- RainbowRainbowA rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
- Antisolar pointAntisolar pointThe antisolar point is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere exactly opposite the Sun. It is where anticrepuscular rays appear to converge, and on a moonless night away from city lights, it is often possible to see the gegenschein there. The apex of a rainbow will also form roughly 42...
- Brocken spectreBrocken spectreA Brocken spectre , also called Brocken bow, mountain spectre or glockenspectre is the apparently enormous and magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun...
- Subparhelic circleSubparhelic circleThe subparhelic circle is a rare halo, an optical phenomenon located below the horizon. It passes through both the subsun, below the sun, and the antisolar point, opposite to the sun...
- GegenscheinGegenscheinThe gegenschein is a faint brightening of the night sky in the region of the antisolar point.- Explanation :Like the zodiacal light, the gegenschein is sunlight reflected by interplanetary dust...
- HeiligenscheinHeiligenscheinHeiligenschein is an optical phenomenon which creates a bright spot around the shadow of the viewer's head. It is created when the surface on which the shadow falls has special optical characteristics. Dewy grass is known to exhibit these characteristics, and creates a Heiligenschein...
- SylvanshineSylvanshineSylvanshine is an optical phenomenon in which dew-covered trees of species whose leaves are wax-covered retroreflect beams of light, as from a vehicle's headlights, sometimes causing trees to appear to be snow-covered at night during the summer. The phenomenon was named and explained in 1994 by...
- AureolaAureolaAn aureola or aureole is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in paintings of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure...