SkyPix

A digital photographic storybook of clouds, weather and water by Roger Edwards.

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Optical Glory

2015-01-21 By Roger Edwards

Optical Glory

One of the best ways to see a glory is from an aircraft overflying liquid-water clouds. Sunlight is backscattered toward the sun by uniformly sized cloud droplets, in a process loosely akin to the visualization of a rainbow (but with far smaller water particles). When observing a true glory, your eyes always will lie on a straight line between its middle and the sun behind you. Put another way:  when on a high bridge, skyscraper, airplane or mountain, look directly opposite the sun to spot any glory that might appear from clouds below.  This striking example also had an outer ring, whose color ordering reverses that of the main glory.

Over northwestern OK (14 Jul 11), looking W.

Filed Under: Aerial, Visual Effects Tagged With: aerial, atmospheric optics, glory, Oklahoma, weather

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About

Welcome to SkyPix, an online photo book of clouds, weather and water by Roger Edwards. As in a printed coffee-table book, every image has its own page with a unique story. After all, meaningful photography is much more than just picture-taking; it is visually rendering a moment in place and time from a perspective like none other. As a scientist and an artist, I hope my deep passion for the power and splendor of our skies and waters shines through in these pages. If you are a cloud and weather aficionado, outdoor enthusiast, outdoor or nature photographer, art lover, or anyone who craves learning, enjoy...

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Further images from this photographer may be found at:
Roger Edwards Image of the Week
Roger Edwards Digital Galleries
Storms Observed Chase BLOG

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