VARIOUS LIGHT

PHENOMENA
 OBJECTIVES:
EXPLAIN VARIOUS LIGHT
PHENOMENA (S11/12PS-IVH-66
 HOW VARIOUS LIGHT
PHENOMENA OCCURS?
• The type of light or optical effect that results greatly
depends upon the type of particles the light encounters
and on the wavelength of the light:
• air, dust and haze, ice crystals, and water droplets, and
lastly with the mechanism of its occurrence.
FACTORS AFFECTING LIGHT PHENOMENA
• 1. Mechanisms - Particle/Molecule-light interactions responsible
for creating optical effects. These interactions include: reflection,
scattering, refraction and diffraction.
• 2. Air, Dust, Haze - Optical effects resulting from the interaction of
light with air, dust and haze particles. These effects include:
crepuscular rays, blue skies, blue haze and sunsets.
• 3. Ice Crystals - Optical effects resulting from the interaction of
light with ice crystals. These effects include: sundogs, sun pillars
and halos.
• 4. Water Droplets - Optical effects resulting from the interaction of
light with water droplets. These effects include: cloud iridescence,
rainbows and a silver lining along the edge of clouds.
 MIRAGES

• Mirages happen when the

ground is very hot and the air
is cool. The hot ground
warms a layer of air just
above the ground. When the
light moves through the cold
air and into the layer of hot
air it is refracted (bent)
CREPUSCULAR RAYS
• sun rays converging on the horizon.
• Crepuscular rays occur when objects
such as mountain peaks or clouds
partially shadow the sun's rays. The
name crepuscular means "relating to
twilight" and these rays are observed at
sunrise and sunset. Crepuscular rays
appear to diverge outward from the
setting sun, and are visible only when
the atmosphere contains enough haze
or dust particles so that sunlight in
unshadowed areas can be scattered
toward the observer.
BLUE SKIES AND BLUE HAZE
• resulting from selective scattering by air
molecules
• Blue skies are produced as shorter
wavelengths of the incoming visible light
(violet and blue) are selectively scattered
by small molecules of oxygen and
nitrogen -- which are much smaller than
the wavelength of the light. The violet
and blue light has been scattered over
and over by the molecules all throughout
the atmosphere, so our eyes register it as
blue light coming from all directions,
giving the sky its blue appearance.
SUNSETS APPEAR IN A VARIETY OF
COLORS
• The colors of the sunset result from a phenomenon
called scattering. Molecules and small particles in the
atmosphere change the direction of light rays,
causing them to scatter. Scattering affects the color of
light coming from the sky, but the details are
determined by the wavelength of the light and the
size of the particle.
RAYLEIGH • Rayleigh scattering occurs when the scattering particles
are small compared to the wavelength of light
SCATTERING interacting with it.

Mie scattering occurs when the particles are of the

MIE SCATTERING same size as wavelength of light being scattered.
Dust, pollen, water vapor, and smoke are common
Mie scattering particles. Mie scattering normally
occurs in the lower portion of the atmosphere.

This type of scattering happens when the particles

NON SELECTIVE are much larger than the wavelength of light.
SCATTERING Common particles responsible for nonselective
scattering are water droplets and large dust
particles.
 PURPLE SUNSET
•
• After storms, hurricanes sky tends to appear
violet during sunset. "dust, pollution, water
droplets and cloud formations" can influence
the colors of the sky, too. Occasionally, pink
and purple will appear more often than red
and orange due in part to "the optical illusion
of the pink wavelengths lighting up the base of
the cloud (due to the low angle of the sun's
rays), and these pink clouds superimposed on
a dark blue sky. The combination of pink and
dark blue can make the sky appear a deep
purple."
YELLOW SUNSET

• The size and concentration of

atmospheric particles in the path of
incoming sunlight determine the type
of sunset observed. When sunlight
encounters very few particles in the
atmosphere, most wavelengths of
light reach the observer's eyes with
almost equal intensity. The reduced
scattering produces the white or
yellow sunsets commonly observed
in the Rocky Mountains, where the
atmosphere typically contains fewer
dust and assorted particles.
YELLOWISH-RED SUNSET

• As incoming sunlight passes

through a more dense
atmosphere, shorter wavelengths
of light (violet and blue) are
efficiently scattered away by
particles suspended in the
atmosphere. This allows
predominantly yellow and red
wavelengths of light to reach the
observer's eyes, producing a
yellowish-red sunset
ORANGE-RED SUNSET

• When there is a high concentration of

particles in the atmosphere that are
• slightly larger than air molecules (like
smoke, dust, and pollutants), shorter
and intermediate wavelengths of light
(violet, blue and yellow) are scattered
away.
• Therefore, only the longer wavelengths
(orange and red) reach the observer's
eyes,
• giving the sun an orange-red
appearance
RED SUNSET
• entration of particles in the
atmosphere, the shorter wavelengths
of light (violet and blue) are scattered
away, resulting in a red sunset. Red
sunsets are often observed from a
beach because of the high
concentration of salt particles
suspended in the air over the oceans.
These particles effectively scatter
shorter wavelengths of light, producing
red sunsets. Dust and ash particles
injected into the atmosphere by
volcanic eruptions can also cause red
sunsets.
22 DEGREE HALO
• a ring of light 22 degrees from the sun
or moon A halo is a ring of light
surrounding the sun or moon. Most
halos appear as bright white rings but
in some instances, the dispersion of
light as it passes through ice crystals
found in upper level cirrus clouds can
cause a halo to have color.
• A 22 degree halo develops when light
enters one side of a columnar ice
crystal and exits through another side.
The light is refracted when it enters the
ice crystal and once again when it
leaves the ice crystal.
 SUNDOGS
• Sundogs, also known as mock
suns or "parhelia", are a pair of
brightly colored spots, one on
either side of the sun.
• As sunlight passes through the
ice crystals, it is bent by 22
degrees before reaching our
eyes, much like what happens
with 22 degree halos. This
bending of light results in the
formation of a sundog.
• The difference between sundogs and halos
is the preferential orientation of the ice
crystals through which the light passes
before reaching our eyes. If the hexagonal
crystals are oriented with their flat faces
horizontal, a sundog is observed. If the
hexagonal crystals are randomly oriented,
a halo is observed
SUN PILLARS

• A sun pillar is a vertical shaft of light extending

upward or downward from the sun. Typically
seen during sunrise or sunset, sun pillars form
when sunlight reflects off the surfaces of
falling ice crystals associated with thin, high-
level clouds (like cirrostratus clouds). The
hexagonal plate-like ice crystals fall with a
horizontal orientation, gently rocking from side
to side as they fall.When the sun is low on the
horizon, an area of brightness appears in the
sky above (or below) the sun as sunlight is
reflected off the surfaces of these tipped ice
crystals.
LIGHT PILLARS

• This luminous optical

phenomenon can be seen
in many cold areas,
Vertical band or tall pillars
of light appear to shoot
into the sky. This is formed
when there’s a reflection
of light from the sun and
the moon form various
small ice crystals
suspended in the air.
PRIMARY RAINBOW
• The primary rainbow forms between
about 40° and 42° from the antisolar
point. The light path involves
refraction and a single reflection
inside the water droplet. If the drops
are large, 1 millimeter or more in
diameter, red, green, and violet are
bright but there is little blue. Such
large droplets are suggested by the
rainbow.
• As the droplets get smaller, red
weakens. In fine mist, all colors
except violet may disappear.
SECONDARY RAINBOWS
• The secondary rainbow is
about 10° further out from
the antisolar point than the
primary bow, is about twice
as wide, and has its colors
reversed.