Rainbows, haloesand glories

John Inglesfield

Photos by Whin InglesfieldCalculations by Owen Davies and Jeff WannellTechnical help from Rhodri Baker

Rainbow above Pen-y-Ghent, Pennines

Formation of primary and secondary bows

Concentration of rays around rainbow angle

(from Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories)

Raindrops contributing to bows(from Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories)

Ground rainbow, Burnmoor

Polar plot of light scattering by raindrop

Bright sky, dark sky

Caustics in Sardinia

Polarization in the Polder(from Minnaert, The Nature of Light and Colour in the Open Air)

Rainbow above Pen-y-Ghent, Pennines

Waves of red light add up, waves of green light cancel out(adapted from Greenler, “Rainbows, Halos, and Glories”)

Diffraction for supernumeraries - drop of radius 0.5 mm

Diffraction for fog bow (white bow) - drop of radius 0.05 mm

Fog bow above Easedale

Corona around moon, Bonvilston

Brocken spectre from Steel Fell (by Brian Baker)

Glory seen from the air

Halo, from Scout Scar above Kendal

Minimum deviation in refraction through ice crystal

Haloes in Antarctica

(from W. Tape, “Atmospheric Halos”, Antarctic Research Series)

Halo and parhelic circle

Sun-dogs (parhelia) above Cunswick Scar