ICY SCIENCE: SCIENCE SPACE ASTRONOMY Spring 2014 | Page 76

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seen from an aeroplane when the sun is directly behind. The glory can be seen surrounding the aeroplane’s
shadow which is cast on the clouds below. The formation of glory is not completely understood, but it is
known that the light is somehow scattered backwards by water droplets in the fog around a shadow, cast at
the antisolar point. That shadow is often elongated and ghost like. This is called a Brocken Spectre, named
after Brocken, the highest peak of the German Harz Mountains, where climbers saw it at the summit, cast
into the clouds below.

I didn’t have a mountain to stand on…but a
dry stone wall was equally challenging for
me, especially as I had to balance with my
camera whilst I was up there! But I finally
managed to capture it and it was a fabulous
moment! A glory is unique to its observer.
That is if a group of people were standing
on that drystone wall with me they would
only be able to see their own glory around
their own shadow and not each others’. So
this was my glory and my special moment

and I was so glad I chased it.
So if ever you find yourself halfway up a hill in thick fog make sure you aim for the top, reach for the sun and find your
own glory! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

ICY SCIENCE | QTR 2 SPRING 2014