A Brocken spectre in mountain fog.
(Photo:Stock Photosfrom VITALII_MAMCHUK/Shutterstock)
Strange, mysterious things can happen in the mountains.
Among the more scientifically explainable phenomenon one may encounter at high altitudes is theBrocken spectre.
A Brocken spectre in mountain fog. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom VITALII_MAMCHUK/Shutterstock)
These unnaturally large shadows show up on clouds, shifting fast and decorated with rainbow halos.
These shadowy figures are named for the Brocken, a mountain peak in the Harz Mountains of Germany.
Due to its height, the peak often extends above low cloud or fog cover.
A tourist takes a photo of a Brocken Spectre in the High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom MAGMAC83/Shutterstock)
The spectre appears on these clouds below the viewer when the sun is shining behind their back.
It usually appears as a larger-than-life shadow of somewhat triangular shape.
Rainbow rings radiate from the shadow.
The Pilot’s Glory phenomenon, a Brocken spectre as seen from a plane. (Photo: Reeftraveler viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0)
So how do these rare optical illusions come to be?
Scientifically, this effect is fairly easy to explain.
The colorful solar glory often seen around the shadow is produced by light refracting within the water droplets.
As clouds shift, the Brocken spectre can seem to flicker and move.
They have been mentioned by the likes of Charles Dickens, C.S.
Lewis, and the psychiatrist Carl Jung.
The figure often appears in literature as a haunting reflection of one’s troubled self.
In real life, some speculate the phenomenon may have contributed to supposed sightings of Bigfoot and yeti creatures.
The Brocken spectre continues to fascinate today as an elusive optical phenomenon.
A tourist takes a photo of a Brocken Spectre in the High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia.
The Pilot’s Glory phenomenon, a Brocken spectre as seen from a plane.
