A Full Glory

Atmospheric phenomenon known as the Glory, forms by sunlight and fog, seen near the sunset from the summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii. On this unusual self-portrait the Sun is directly on the photographer’s back. Also known as the Spectre of the Brocken is also seen from airplanes when looking opposite the Sun. The optical phenomenon appearing like an iconic Saint’s halo about the head of the observer, it is centered at the antisolar point and therefore below the horizon, produced by light backscattered (a combination of diffraction, reflection and refraction) towards its source by a cloud of uniformly-sized water droplets. Here the glory is surrounded by a full circle fogbow. Glories can be found in mythology and cultural belief and was often taken to show the observer’s personal enlightenment.