brockenspectre

Because the observer is placed at the center of this effect, the Specter of the Brocken is truly unique. Even people standing next to one another see only themselves in the middle of the glory--hence the long record of historical altercations when each member of a mountain party claims to be the sole proprietor of divinity. Although Brocken Spectre can be difficult to see while hiking, it is very common to see the airplane centered in a glory while flying. The unique requirements are: having the sun at your back, having clear sky behind you, and a very dense fog bank directly in front of you. The conditions seem to require the hiker to scramble the highest isolated peak often at considerable risk!

Here, my shadow is centered in the glory with radial rays eminating from the center that are commonly reported. Seeing something like this is truly remarkable. This is figure 5.35 in Ackerman 2003.

The position of the camera is important. The image above was taken with the camera centered on my waist. The camera is at my eye in this image. The effect's extreme angular sensitivity is the reason why people standing right next to one another do not see the other people in their personal Brocken Bow!

A Brocken Bow taken with my camera at my eye and a flagole directly behind me.

A section of a fogbow surrounds the Brocken Bow. For a really spectacular fogbow, click here.

Here's a good illustration of the conditions that must be present to see a Brocken Bow.

On the approach into LA, thin clouds produced this glory with the airplane's shadow at the center. The effect is so narrow that my position in the plane is at the center of glory.