{"id":15860,"date":"2026-06-13T05:32:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T00:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/?p=15860"},"modified":"2026-07-26T10:55:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T05:25:47","slug":"optical-phenomena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/optical-phenomena\/","title":{"rendered":"Optical Phenomena"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<h3>Optical Phenomena<\/h3>\n<h3>Primary Rainbow<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A primary rainbow is a group of coloured concentric arcs of a circle with a radius of <strong>42\u00b0<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The colours range from <strong>violet<\/strong> on the inner edge to <strong>red<\/strong> on the outer edge.<\/li>\n<li>Rainbows form due to the scattering of sunlight as it passes through water droplets.<\/li>\n<li>A complete circular rainbow can be viewed from an aircraft or from high mountains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Halo<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A halo is a circle of white light with a slight red tint on its outer edge, seen around the Sun or Moon through <strong>Cirrostratus (CS)<\/strong> clouds.<\/li>\n<li>Halos form due to the predominance of ice crystals in the cloud.<\/li>\n<li>A small halo has a radius of <strong>22\u00b0<\/strong>, while a large halo has a radius of approximately <strong>46\u00b0<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Corona<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A corona consists of coloured rings with a radius of about <strong>5\u00b0<\/strong> around the Sun or Moon.<\/li>\n<li>It forms due to the diffraction of light, commonly when viewed through fog or thin clouds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Mirage<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A mirage is caused by the refraction of light passing through layers of air with different densities due to temperature differences between the surface and upper air.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lower (Inferior) Mirage:<\/strong> Commonly observed over hot roads, soil, or water surfaces.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Upper (Superior) Mirage:<\/strong> Seen over snow-covered land or cold sea surfaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Bishop&#8217;s Ring<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bishop&#8217;s Ring is a white ring with a radius of approximately <strong>22\u00b0<\/strong> around the Sun or Moon.<\/li>\n<li>It is produced by the diffraction of light through suspended dust particles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Twilight Colours<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Twilight colours appear during sunrise and sunset due to the refraction and scattering of sunlight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Irisation<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Irisation is the appearance of predominantly pink or pastel-coloured light around clouds due to the diffraction of light.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Glory<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A glory consists of coloured rings surrounding the observer&#8217;s own shadow projected onto clouds or fog.<\/li>\n<li>It forms due to the diffraction and backscattering of light.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Crepuscular Rays<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-10.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Crepuscular rays are dark blue or bright streaks of sunlight radiating from the Sun due to shadows cast by clouds below the horizon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Aurora<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An aurora is the visible emission of light in the upper atmosphere at altitudes between <strong>70 km and 1000 km<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It is produced by electrically charged particles interacting with gases in the ionosphere, creating a magnetic storm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Northern Lights<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Aurora Borealis<\/strong>, or Northern Lights, is observed in the Northern Hemisphere near the North Pole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Southern Lights<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Aurora Australis<\/strong>, or Southern Lights, is observed in the Southern Hemisphere near the South Pole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Lightning<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lightning is a discharge of negatively charged electrical particles from clouds toward the Earth, with extremely high electrical potential.<\/li>\n<li>Lightning is associated with active thunderstorms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Ball, Sheet and Air Lightning<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-15.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ball Lightning:<\/strong> Cloud-to-ground electrical discharge.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sheet Lightning:<\/strong> Electrical discharge occurring within the same cloud.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Air Lightning:<\/strong> Electrical discharge from a cloud into the surrounding air.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>St. Elmo&#8217;s Fire<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m25-optical-phenomena-16.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>St. Elmo&#8217;s Fire is a blue or green electrical discharge seen on an aircraft windscreen or other pointed objects while flying near <strong>Cumulonimbus (CB)<\/strong> clouds.<\/li>\n<li>It is commonly accompanied by a crackling or buzzing sound.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Optical Phenomena Primary Rainbow A primary rainbow is a group of coloured concentric arcs of a circle with a radius of 42\u00b0. The colours range from violet on the inner edge to red on the outer edge. Rainbows form due to the scattering of sunlight as it passes through water droplets. A complete circular rainbow can be viewed from an aircraft or from high mountains. Halo A halo is a circle of white light with a slight red tint on its outer edge, seen around the Sun or Moon through&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-meteorology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16699,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15860\/revisions\/16699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}