Greenland Cloud Optics
Ed Stockard (photostream) is followed by atmospheric optics. While at Summit station on the Greenland ice cap he imaged halos, glories, coronae a rare Bouguer halo and more. Then on leaving Greenland he witnessed this glory and huge cloudbow (far left) with an inner supernumerary during the climb out of Kangerlussuaq.
©Ed Stockard, shown with permission
A cloudbow is a fogbow by another name. Both are the result of diffraction and refraction by small (1/1000 to 1/10 mm dia.) water droplets.
The glory is also produced by diffraction. Glories, cloud/fogbows and coronae are the brightest components of diffraction that sends light in all directions from the droplets.
The background shows cloud/fog droplets and a raindrop on the same scale. However, cloud droplets are not as close as shown - relative to their diameters they are a similar distance apart as Earth and Moon.
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