What Causes Brocken Spectre? How Do You See A Brocken Spectre?

Brocken Spectre is caused by a misty whether, usually when the sun is behind a viewer – their shadow is then cast forward through the mist.

How Do You See A Brocken Spectre?

Brocken Spectre can be viewed behind a mountain climber when the sun is low and the climber is looking downwards into mist from a height.

What Is a Brocken Spectre?

Brocken spectre, or Brocken bow, is the term used to describe a greatly enlarged shadow of a person standing on a mountain when the sun is low.

The shadow is cast over the tops of clouds, located below the mountain the person is standing on.

The said cloud usually contains three elements that surround the spectre’s head – water droplets that have been scattered, a bright spot known as a Heiligenschein, and rings of rainbow-colored light known as a glory.

Johann Silberschlag was the first to discover and write about the Brocken spectre as far back as 1780.

The phenomenon is typically exhibited on foggy slope, cloud bank, or even an airplane.

Is a Brocken Spectre Rare?

The Brocken Spectre is a rare occurrence of a radial rainbow that only occurs at very high altitudes.

It only occurs when the viewer is gazing down into mist or fog from a height and the sun is shining from behind them.

Through the mist, the light casts their shadow, which often takes the shape of a triangle.