In
atmospheric optics, a photometeor is a bright object or other optical phenomenon appearing in the Earth's
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
when sunlight or moonlight creates a
reflection,
refraction
In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one 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 commonly observed phenomeno ...
,
diffraction
Diffraction is defined as the interference or bending of waves around the corners of an obstacle or through an aperture into the region of geometrical shadow of the obstacle/aperture. The diffracting object or aperture effectively becomes a s ...
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
halos,
rainbows,
fogbows,
cloud iridescences (or
irisation),
glories,
Bishop's ring
A Bishop's Ring is a diffuse brown or bluish halo observed around the sun. It is typically observed after large volcanic eruptions. The first recorded observation of a Bishop's Ring was by Rev. Sereno Edwards Bishop of Honolulu, after the Krakato ...
s,
coronas,
crepuscular rays,
sun dogs
A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, also called a parhelion (plural parhelia) in meteorology, 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 a 22° h ...
,
light pillar
A light pillar is an atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source. The effect is created by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosp ...
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'', meanin ...
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 flashes.
Photometeors are not reported in routine
weather observation.
See also
*
Hydrometeor
*
Rayleigh scattering
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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