Hiking photographer captures stunning ‘angel in the sky’ phenomenon that forms when the observer stands on a mountain above the upper surface of a cloud and the sun creates a ring of color around their shadow
- Lee Howdle was hiking through in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, central England
- He encountered a phenomenon called brocken specter that makes your shadow look like an angel
- It occurs when an observer stands on an elevated area that reaches above the upper surface of a cloud
- Light reflects in the back of their shadow and forms a ‘circular glory’ of colors around their dark figure
A photographer captured a magical scene while hiking in the UK this month– a phenomenon that appears to create an ‘angel in the sky’.
Lee Howdle was hiking through in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, central England where he encountered brocken specter.
This weather event occurs when an observer stands on an elevated area that reaches above the upper surface of a cloud with the sun at their back.
Light reflects in the back of their shadow and forms a ‘circular glory’ of colors around their dark figure that may appear enormous – Howdle said his looked ‘a mile long’.
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A photographer captured a magical scene while hiking in the UK this month– a phenomenon that appears to create an ‘angel in the sky’. Lee Howdle was hiking through in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, central England where he encountered brocken specter
Howdle, who stood on Mam Tor, a 1,696-foot hill in the High Peak area of the National Park, captured the stunning scene using his Canon 5d Mk4 camera.
‘My shadow looked huge. It was in this circular rainbow,’ he told SWNS.
‘I took some photos of it and carried on walking. It was like an angel in the sky over the hills, it was quite magical.’
‘I have never seen this before in my life. I read about it once on the internet,’ he told SWNS. It’s really amazing and I feel very blessed to have captured such a magical moment.’
Another photographer was fortunate enough to capture a different weather phenomenon that produced a similar angelic display.
This weather event occurs when an observer stands on an elevated area that reaches above the upper surface of a cloud with the sun at their back. Light reflects in the back of their shadow and forms a ‘circular glory’ of colors around their dark figure that may appear enormous – Howdle said his looked ‘a mile long
Howdle, who stood on Mam Tor, a 1,696-foot hill in the High Peak area of the National Park, captured the stunning scene using his Canon 5d Mk4 camera
While skiing down the Hörnligrat Mountain in the Swiss Alps Michael Schneider snapped a stunning image using just an iPhone 11 the moment the moment ice crystals froze midair, creating a perfect ‘halo’ around the sun.
The optical phenomenon, which is actually known as a 22° halo, occurs when light interacts with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere.
Lee Howdle shared the images on his Instagram page shortly after viewing the stunning disaply
Geophysicist Mika McKinnon told Fox News: ‘The crystals can be high up in cirrus clouds, or closer to the ground as diamond dust or ice fog.’
‘Just like raindrops scatter light into rainbows, the crystals of ice can reflect and refract light, acting as mirrors or prisms depending on the shape of the crystal and the incident angle of the light.’
Schneider said he was skiing down the mount when he looked behind towards the top of the mountain and saw the stunning event forming.
‘I quickly realized that a halo was developing in the backlight to the Sun, initially very inconspicuous until this light phenomenon increased incredibly,’ Schneider said in comments obtained by SWNS.
‘I was fascinated by the two rings around the Sun and the many light reflections.’
The image was taken in November 2019 around 11AM on the Hörnligrat, the mountain station of the Hörnli-Express and Urdenbahn cable cars.
‘The sun had been struggling through the last snow clouds for about an hour,’ Schneider explained on his blog.
‘The temperature was -7 degrees. I was waiting up here for my colleague with whom I had arranged to go skiing.’
‘I used the time to capture the beautiful lighting moods with my smartphone.
Another photographer was fortunate enough to capture a different weather phenomenon that produced a similar angelic display. , Michael Schneider snapped a stunning image the moment the moment ice crystals froze midair, creating a perfect ‘halo’ around the sun
The 22°arc is one of the most common ice halos. It forms a circle around a light source that subtends a full 22, which is about the distance covered by your fully outstretched hand, thumb on the sun to pinky finger on the halo
‘This was a good fit, because a few days ago I had bought a smartphone with new camera technology, so I was able to test it a bit.’
The 22°arc is one of the most common ice halos.
It forms a circle around a light source that subtends a full 22, which is about the distance covered by your fully outstretched hand, thumb on the sun to pinky finger on the halo, Gizmodo reported.
There are instances when only part of the halo is visible and others it will make a complete circle.
The inside rim is sometimes red and the outer edge is usually white.
. Most light is deflected to approximately 22°, creating a bright inner edge, but some light is deflected up to 50°, blurring the outer extent of the halo.
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