In
atmospheric optics
Atmospheric optics is "the study of the optical characteristics of the atmosphere or products of atmospheric processes .... ncludingtemporal and spatial resolutions beyond those discernible with the naked eye". Meteorological optics is "that par ...
, a photometeor is a bright object or other optical phenomenon appearing in the Earth's
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
when sunlight or moonlight creates a
reflection,
refraction
In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commo ...
,
diffraction
Diffraction is the deviation of waves from straight-line propagation without any change in their energy due to an obstacle or through an aperture. The diffracting object or aperture effectively becomes a secondary source of the Wave propagation ...
or
interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extra ...
under particular circumstances. The most common examples include
halo
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to:
Most common meanings
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
* ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021)
Arts and en ...
s,
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 ...
s,
fogbows,
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 ...
s (or
irisation),
glories,
Bishop's rings,
corona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...
s,
crepuscular ray
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 (vision ...
s,
sun dogs,
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 ...
s,
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,
scintillation
Scintillation can refer to:
*Scintillation (astronomy), atmospheric effects which influence astronomical observations
*Interplanetary scintillation, fluctuations of radio waves caused by the solar wind
*Scintillation (physics), a flash of light pro ...
s, and
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; ...
es.
Photometeors are not reported in routine
weather observation
Weather reconnaissance is the acquisition of weather data used for research and planning. Typically the term reconnaissance refers to observing weather from the air, as opposed to the ground.
Methods
Aircraft
Helicopters are not built to ...
.
See also
*
Hydrometeor
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwealth ...
*
Rayleigh scattering
Rayleigh scattering ( ) is the scattering or deflection of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles with a size much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation. For light frequencies well below the resonance frequency of the scat ...
Notes and references
External links
South pole halos - an example of halos and arcs around the south polar sun
Atmospheric optical phenomena
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