obviously, rainbows aren’t the only brilliant natural phenomena on earth. below are some optical phenomena, atmospheric phenomena, electrical phenomena and natural optical illusions and they’re all incredible for one reason or another.
if you know of others worth a mention, let me know and i’ll add ‘em.
green flash
a green flash is a natural optical phenomenon and can be sometimes seen above the sun as it sets or rises. the reason for this event lies in refraction of light in the atmosphere (read more here).
i’m yet to see a decent video of a green flash so won’t even bother posting a shit one. instead, you should visit this website and learn using your mind.
crepuscular rays
crepuscular rays are shards of sunlight that shoot out from behind objects that cast a shadow, usually trees or clouds, causing columns of light to eerily light up the landscape.
check out the short clip below. a road never looked so attractive.
mirages
another of the more common optical phenomena, mirages are caused by refraction.
there are also 2 types of mirage: inferior and superior. with an inferior mirage, the actual mirage is mirrored from above (e.g. seeing the sky on the road). with a superior mirage, the mirage image appears above the true object. these are less common.
a more detailed eplanation can be digested here.
below: an example of an inferior mirage
sprites
sprites are relatively new discoveries and are still the subject of much scientific debate. along with blue jets and elves they form a group of occurences named transient luminous events and are electric discharges that occur high above active thunderstorms.
best of all they look like some kind of massive electrical jellyfish.
due to the fact that these events only last for milliseconds and aren’t exactly easily spotted, there are very few videos to watch. the youtube clip below was captured using an image intensified camera, bear in mind that the brightest parts of the effect are around 70km above land.
alternatively go here and watch an amazing clip in colour.
- more on this phenomenon here.
gravity wave
‘In a gravity wave, the upward moving region is the most favorable region for cloud development and the sinking region favorable for clear skies. That is why you may see rows of clouds and clear areas between the rows of clouds. A gravity wave is nothing more than a wave moving through a stable layer of the atmosphere. Thunderstorm updrafts will produce gravity waves as they try to punch into the tropopause. The tropopause represents a region of very stable air. This stable air combined with the upward momentum of a thunderstorm updraft (trigger mechanism) will generate gravity waves within the clouds trying to push into the tropopause.’ - from here.
that’s exactly what i was gonna say.
the photo above shows atmospheric gravity waves as seen from space. the amazing timelapse video below shows the phenomenon from ground level in iowa.
halo / sundog
the incredible halo in the photo above is a 22 degree sun halo and is one of the more common atmospheric phenomena, apparently caused by refraction in the hexagonal ice crystals in the air. sun dogs (aka parhelia) are the brighter parts of the halo, usually seen on each horizontal point.
there’s a more detailed explanation, with diagrams, here.
aurora borealis
mainly thanks to youtube this phenomenon has gained a huge amount of coverage in the last couple of years. even so, it’s not something you could ever grow tired of watching. if you’ve never seen it, watch the video below.
the explanation?
‘The sun gives off high-energy charged particles (also called ions) that travel out into space at speeds of 300 to 1200 kilometres per second. A cloud of such particles is called a plasma. The stream of plasma coming from the sun is known as the solar wind. As the solar wind interacts with the edge of the earth’s magnetic field, some of the particles are trapped by it and they follow the lines of magnetic force down into the ionosphere, the section of the earth’s atmosphere that extends from about 60 to 600 kilometres above the earth’s surface. When the particles collide with the gases in the ionosphere they start to glow, producing the spectacle that we know as the auroras, northern and southern.’ - from virtual finland
brocken spectre
see the halo in the photos above? the shadow in the middle is actually cast by the person taking the photograph at the top of the hill, the effect a rare one that goes by the name of brocken spectre. in order to create this effect you must be looking down into mist from the peak of a hill with a low sun behind you.
simple stuff.
the guy in the video below managed to catch a rare glimpse of the effect on film. it occurs about half way through.
moonbow
moonbows are the darker, less frequent relative of our old favourite, the rainbow. the ingredients needed: a very bright moon, rain and some luck.
there’s a brief article from new scientist here and a grainy video clip below.
gravity hills / electric brae
a slightly different ‘phenomena’ from the rest, the electric brae in maybole, scotland is one of a number of locations throughout the world known as ‘gravity hills’. it’s a stretch of angled road where vehicles ‘mysteriously’ roll uphill, the real explanation owing to the fact that the surrounding landscape sits in such a way as to give the illusion that the road is sloping in the opposite direction. i’ve personally been to the one in the clip below and it’s pretty fucking weird even if you know the reasons behind it.
at this wiki page there’s a list of all known gravity hills in the world.
ball lightning
ball lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon that is still disputed by many people, mainly due to the lack of quality footage and research, but also because of it’s behaviour. rather than striking quickly, ball lightning can apparently last for a much longer time. there’s a brilliant page dedicated to the phenomenon here.
the video below shows a mean looking storm, the ball lighting appears about 2 minutes in. it’s well worth a look.
circumhorizon arc/fire rainbow
‘The arc is a very large halo and is close to, and parallel to the horizon. Usually only fragments are visible where there happen to be cirrus clouds’.
