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Credit & Copyright: A. Tudorica
(ISS Romania)
Explanation:
If you tried to enter this hall of fog, you would find it dissipates around you.
The hall is actually an
the mountain from which this picture was taken.
Known as "the glory", the phenomenon is frequently
seen from airplanes.
The ring's center is not visible, but if it were, the shadow of the observer would
appear.
This shadow would likely change as clouds passed,
creating a faux moving giant known as the
Brocken Spectre.
Pictured above, several concentric rings of the glory appear to create a hall
for this
mountain king.
The cause of the glory has only been understood recently and is relatively complex.
Briefly, small droplets of water
reflect, refract,
and
diffract sunlight backwards towards the Sun.
The phenomenon has a
counterpart in astronomy, where looking out from planet Earth
in the direction opposite the Sun yields a bright spot called
the gegenschein.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: clouds
Publications with words: clouds
See also: