Benjamin Knispel3h ago

Just eight days ago, I gave a popular science talk at @mpi_grav about colorful phenomena in the sky, and now – boom!

Just minutes ago, there were beautiful iridescent clouds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_iridescence) here, north of Hanover, Germany.

Here, light is diffracted by tiny droplets in the clouds, creating these typical mother-of-pearl colors.

#Light #Physics #Photography #NaturePhotography #Diffraction #AtmosphericOptics

Maikel de Bakker6h ago
Yesterday morning felt like one of those quiet bets you make with nature. The night had frozen everything solid, so I suspected there might be low-hanging fog waiting somewhere between the fields and the treelines. As I walked in, part of me was afraid I had already “mist” it — but as the sun crept closer to the horizon, the air began to thicken, soft and silver, like the world taking a slow breath.

Just before sunrise, something unexpected happened. High above the forming fog, an ice cloud lit up in iridescent colours — mostly red, orange, and yellow, with subtle hints of green and blue. Ice crystals at high altitude can refract sunlight much like tiny prisms, creating these fleeting rainbow glows known as irisation. It felt like a quiet scientific miracle happening in real time.

That’s when I saw the leafless tree. Stark, skeletal, patient. And suddenly the composition clicked: a tree seemingly losing its last colours into the sky, like a gentle puff of smoke drifting upward. It’s not my most dramatic image, but there was something special in its simplicity — a moment where winter, light, physics, and imagination lined up just long enough to press the shutter.

Photography, after all, is just another way of studying light and life.

#wonderinglens #ByMaikeldeBakker #NaturePhotography #LandscapeLovers #MorningMist #IceCloud #Iridescence #AtmosphericOptics #WeatherPhenomena #TreeSilhouette #WinterLight #DutchNature #LowlandsMagic #SunriseGlow #ColorInTheSky #FoggyMorning #PhysicsInNature #ScientificStorytelling #CanonPhotography #OutdoorLife #NatureStory #MagicalRealismInNature #NaturalWonder #SkyWatcher #EarthObservations #LightPlay #WanderingWithACamera #DailyExploration #MomentOfCalm #VisualPoetry #CreativeVision #PhotographersLife #ArtOfSeeing #NatureMood #WinterVibes #FieldNotes #MindfulPhotography #NatureIsArt #ChasingLight #StoryThroughLens
Benjamin KnispelNov 2

There is currently a halo (22° halo, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22%C2%B0_halo) around the moon.

The ring is created by moonlight refracted by hexagonal, non-oriented ice crystals. These ice prisms are found in high-altitude clouds (cirrus clouds). This type of halo is quite common. Its radius is 22°, which is about 44 full moon diameters.

#Halo #AtmosphericOptics #Moon #Physics #Refraction #Cirrus #Photography

Benjamin KnispelOct 21

Regenbogenfragment bei tiefem Sonnenstand heute früh 10 min nach Sonnenaufgang. Der Regen zog in der Entfernung schnell durch, das Regenbogenstück war nur wenige Minuten lang zu sehen

#Regenbogen #AtmosphärischeOptik #AtmosphericOptics #Wetter #Hannover #Wedemark

Benjamin KnispelSep 15

That was a really bright rainbow just before sunset when a heavy shower passed over Wedemark.

#Rainbow #Hannover #Wedemark #AtmosphericOptics #Sunset #Nature #Photography

Ed WiebeJul 30

Fata morgana visible today, from Willows Beach in #OakBay, #VictoriaBC. Cold air under warm creates a duct where there are multiple paths that light from an object can follow to your eye. The different paths result in multiple images of the same thing. In the image of the ship, it's heat haze, small pockets of convection mixing the cold and warm air, that result in a smearing of the image. It's very painterly.

#AtmosphericOptics #mirage

AlcorNewsJul 21
La Lune ne change pas, c’est l’air qui joue des tours à sa lumière. Horizon bas, poussières : bonjour reflets rouges.
https://www.presse-citron.net/pourquoi-lumiere-lune-change-couleur/
#Space #Science #Astrophysics #MoonColors #RayleighScattering #AtmosphericOptics #RedMoon
Pourquoi la lumière de la Lune change-t-elle de couleur ?

En réalité, c'est à cause de nous.

Presse-citron
StellarSnapJul 11

📸 The Veins of Heaven
A stunning display of noctilucent clouds over Vallentuna Lake, Sweden, captured on July 10. These night-shining clouds form 80 km above Earth and glow in twilight by reflecting sunlight from beyond the horizon.

📅 APOD – July 11, 2025
📷 Credit: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies, TWAN)

#APOD #NoctilucentClouds #NightShiningClouds #PolarMesosphericClouds #UpperAtmosphere #TwilightSky #AtmosphericOptics #NaturePhotography #Astrophotography #StellarSnap

Mary McIntyre AstronomyJun 18
Two different sets of #IridescentVapourTrails captured from Oxfordshire, UK 15 June '25 The colours are created when sunlight is diffracted by tiny water droplets that condense out over the aircraft wings. Canon 1100D + 300mm zoom lens #AtmosphericOptics #Aviation #Diffraction
Mary McIntyre AstronomyJun 12
As the almost #FullMoon rose on 11th June 2025, it created the tallest #MoonPillar I've ever seen, extending about 30 degrees up! Photographed from North Oxfordshire with a Canon 1100D + Sigma 300mm lens #AtmosphericOptics