Morning Run Glory, Belgium

Morning Run Glory, Belgium ~ Mist and sun combine to produce a ringed glory. Witnessed by Bert Bruynooghe while running on the dykes alongside the marshes at Gentbrugge.

©Bert Bruynooghe, shown with permission

Droplets 5-50 micron diameter produce glories. They diffract sunlight.

A fogbow and corona are part of the same outcome.

Larger drops, like raindrops, still diffract light but their glory is small and unnoticeable.

Refraction rather than diffraction dominate. No glory or corona but instead a a sharp rainbow.

Search for a glory whenever there is sunlight and mist (or cloud).   An airplane is good.   Or a mountain.   But a ship's rail over a cool sea, a milk processing factory, a dyke or sometimes a field will suffice.    The key is the sunlight shining on or through enough mist directly opposite.   As seen above, only a metre or so of mist is enough.

“Fresh” mist is best for its droplets have a more uniform size and generate several rings.   More mature mist with a wide range of drop sizes might at most give a glow around the head or camera.

While glory searching look too for shadow hiding, the opposition effect.   Bert’s image show shadows from the low sun except near the antisolar point. There they hide behind the shadow casters.

The antisolar point is the home of glows, the glory, heiligenschein and opposition effect.