Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ƒ/8
35 mm
1/2,000
640
The “Glory” (or Buddha’s light 佛光) is produced by the backscattering of sunlight off uniformly-sized water droplets. The angular size of the ring is much smaller than a rainbow, and varies with the size of the droplets.
Since childhood, I imagined that a rainbow would be a complete circle if the Earth’s horizon did not get in the way. I first saw a double rainbow circle example by helicopter, but could not capture it all in frame.
The zeppelin’s shadow reminds us that the sun has to be directly behind the observer for the double-bounce within each watery sphere to align across the spectrum.
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