Atmospheric optical phenomena include: *

Afterglow An afterglow in meteorology consists of several atmospheric optical phenomena, with a general definition as a broad arch of whitish or pinkish sunlight in the twilight sky, consisting of the bright segment and the purple light. Purple light mai ...

Airglow Airglow is a faint emission of light by a planetary atmosphere. In the case of Earth's atmosphere, this optical phenomenon causes the night sky never to be completely dark, even after the effects of starlight and diffuse sky radiation, diffuse ...

Alexander's band Alexander's band or Alexander's dark band is an optical phenomenon associated with rainbows which was named after Alexander of Aphrodisias who first described this phenomenon in Aphrodisias, ''Commentary on Book IV of Aristotle's'' Meteoro ...

, the dark region between the two bows of a double rainbow. *

Alpenglow Alpenglow (from ; ) is an optical phenomenon that appears as a horizontal reddish glow near the horizon opposite to the Sun when the solar disk is just below the horizon. Description Strictly speaking, alpenglow refers to indirect sunlight r ...

Anthelion An anthelion (plural anthelia, from late Greek language, Greek ανθηλιος, "opposite the sun") is a rare optical phenomenon of the Halo (optical phenomenon), halo family. It appears on the parhelic circle opposite to the Sun as a faint whi ...

Anticrepuscular rays Anticrepuscular rays, or antisolar rays, are meteorological optics, meteorological optical phenomenon, optical phenomena similar to crepuscular rays, but appear opposite the Sun in the sky. Anticrepuscular rays are essentially parallel (geomet ...

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

(northern and southern lights, aurora borealis and aurora australis) *

Belt of Venus The Belt of Venusalso called Venus's Girdle, the antitwilight arch, or antitwilightis an atmospheric phenomenon visible shortly before sunrise or after sunset, during civil twilight. It is a pinkish glow that surrounds the observer, extendin ...

Brocken Spectre A Brocken spectre (British English; American spelling: Brocken specter; ), also called Brocken bow, mountain spectre, or spectre of the Brocken is the magnified (and apparently enormous) shadow of an observer cast in mid air upon any type of cl ...

Circumhorizontal arc A circumhorizontal arc is an optical phenomenon that belongs to the family of ice halos formed by the refraction of sunlight or moonlight in plate-shaped ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, typically in actual cirrus or cirrostratus clo ...

Circumzenithal arc The circumzenithal arc, also called the circumzenith arc (CZA), the upside-down rainbow, and the Bravais arc,"Mémoire sur les halos et les phénomènes optiques qui les accompagnent", J. de l' École Royale Polytechnique 31(18), 1-270, A. Brav ...

Cloud iridescence Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun or Moon. The colors resemble those seen in soap bubbles and oil on a water surface. It is a type of phot ...

Crepuscular rays Crepuscular rays, sometimes colloquially referred to as god rays, are sunbeams that originate when the Sun appears to be just above or below a layer of clouds, during the twilight period. Crepuscular rays are noticeable when the contrast betwee ...

Earth's shadow Earth's shadow (or Earth shadow) is the shadow that Earth itself casts through its atmosphere and into outer space, toward the antisolar point. During the twilight period (both early dusk and late dawn), the shadow's visible fringe – someti ...

Earthquake light An earthquake light also known as earthquake lightning or earthquake flash is a luminous optical phenomenon that appears in the sky at or near areas of tectonic stress, seismic activity, or volcanic eruptions. There is no broad consensus as to th ...

s * Glories *

Green flash The green flash and green ray are meteorological optical phenomena that sometimes occur transiently around the moment of sunset or sunrise. When the conditions are right, a distinct green spot is briefly visible above the Sun's upper limb; ...

* Halos, of Sun or Moon, including

sun dog A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, also called a parhelion (plural parhelia) in atmospheric science, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within ...

s *

Haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classificati ...

Heiligenschein (; ) is an optical phenomenon in which a bright spot appears around the shadow of the viewer's head in the presence of dew. In photogrammetry and remote sensing, it is more commonly known as the hotspot. It is also occasionally known as Cellini ...

or halo effect, partly caused by the

opposition effect The opposition surge (sometimes known as the opposition effect, opposition spike or Seeliger effect) is the brightening of a rough surface, or an object with many particles, when illuminated from directly behind the observer. The term is most wid ...

Ice blink Iceblink is a white light seen near the horizon, especially on the underside of low clouds, resulting from reflection of light off an ice field immediately beyond. The iceblink was used by both Inuit and explorers looking for the Northwest Pass ...

Light pillar A light pillar or ice pillar is an atmospheric optics, atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical light beam, beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source. The effect is created by the Reflection (physics), reflection ...

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...

s (including Fata Morgana) *

Monochrome Rainbow A monochrome or red rainbow is an optics, optical and meteorology, meteorological phenomenon and a rare variation of the more commonly seen multicolored rainbow. Its formation process is identical to that of a normal rainbow (namely the reflectio ...

Moon dog A moon dog (or moondog) or mock moon, also called a paraselene (plural paraselenae) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Moon. They are exactly analogous to sun dogs. ...

Moonbow A moonbow (also known as a moon rainbow or lunar rainbow) is a rainbow produced by moonlight rather than direct sunlight. Other than the difference in the light source, its formation is the same as for a solar rainbow: It is caused by the refracti ...

* Nacreous cloud/Polar stratospheric cloud *

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

Sprite (lightning) Sprites or red sprites are large-scale electric discharges that occur in the mesosphere, high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky. They are usually triggered ...

Subsun A subsun (also spelled sub-sun) is an optical phenomenon that appears as a glowing spot visible within clouds or mist when observed from above. The subsun appears directly below the actual Sun, and is caused by sunlight reflecting off numerous ti ...

Sun dog A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, also called a parhelion (plural parhelia) in atmospheric science, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within ...

Tangent arc Tangent arcs are a type of halo, an atmospheric optical phenomenon, which appears above and below the observed Sun or Moon, tangent to the 22° halo. To produce these arcs, rod-shaped hexagonal ice crystals need to have their long axis aligne ...

Tyndall effect The Tyndall effect is light scattering by particles in a colloid such as a very fine suspension (a sol). Also known as Tyndall scattering, it is similar to Rayleigh scattering, in that the intensity of the scattered light is inversely propor ...

Upper-atmospheric lightning Upper-atmospheric lightning and ionospheric lightning are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. Upper-atmo ...

, including red sprites,

Blue jets Upper-atmospheric lightning and ionospheric lightning are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. Upper-atmo ...

, and

ELVES An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

* Water sky

References

{{reflist *

atmospheric optical phenomena Atmospheric optical phenomena include: *Afterglow *Airglow * Alexander's band, the dark region between the two bows of a double rainbow. * Alpenglow * Anthelion * Anticrepuscular rays *Aurora (northern and southern lights, aurora borealis and ...

Optical phenomena Optical phenomena are any observable events that result from the interaction of light and matter. All optics, optical phenomena coincide with Quantum mechanics, quantum phenomena. Common optical phenomena are often due to the interaction of ligh ...

See also

References