Brocken Spectre
I went out early this morning hoping to photograph a temperature inversion, but as the sun appeared I witnessed something much more interesting; a Brocken Spectre. Now if you spend lots of time in mountains (especially early mornings) you probably think they are commonplace but I think this is only the third time I have seen this meteorological phenomenon. It occurs when the sun casts your own shadow onto mist that is below you and creates a magnified human form in the mist. If you are really lucky your spectre will be surrounded by a halo of rainbow coloured rings, also known as a "glory" and you can see that here. The Brocken Spectre also goes by the names Anticorona, Brocken Bow and Mountain Spectre and was first described in 1780 by Johann Silberschlag from a peak in Germany's Harz Mountains called Brocken. According to Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brocken_spectre there are numerous mentions of it in literature, including by Coleridge, Dickens and Lewis Carroll. Here is an extract from Coleridge's poem "Constancy to an Ideal Object":
At wintry dawn, where o'er the sheep-track's maze
The viewless snow-mist weaves a glist'ning haze,
Sees full before him, gliding without tread,
An image with a glory round its head;
The enamoured rustic worships its fair hues,
Nor knows he makes the shadow he pursues!
I photographed this Brocken Spectre this morning near Holme Moss in the Peak District. It seems others also witnessed Brocken Spectres in the Peak District on the same day: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-59741101
Brocken Spectre
I went out early this morning hoping to photograph a temperature inversion, but as the sun appeared I witnessed something much more interesting; a Brocken Spectre. Now if you spend lots of time in mountains (especially early mornings) you probably think they are commonplace but I think this is only the third time I have seen this meteorological phenomenon. It occurs when the sun casts your own shadow onto mist that is below you and creates a magnified human form in the mist. If you are really lucky your spectre will be surrounded by a halo of rainbow coloured rings, also known as a "glory" and you can see that here. The Brocken Spectre also goes by the names Anticorona, Brocken Bow and Mountain Spectre and was first described in 1780 by Johann Silberschlag from a peak in Germany's Harz Mountains called Brocken. According to Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brocken_spectre there are numerous mentions of it in literature, including by Coleridge, Dickens and Lewis Carroll. Here is an extract from Coleridge's poem "Constancy to an Ideal Object":
At wintry dawn, where o'er the sheep-track's maze
The viewless snow-mist weaves a glist'ning haze,
Sees full before him, gliding without tread,
An image with a glory round its head;
The enamoured rustic worships its fair hues,
Nor knows he makes the shadow he pursues!
I photographed this Brocken Spectre this morning near Holme Moss in the Peak District. It seems others also witnessed Brocken Spectres in the Peak District on the same day: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-59741101