Ghostly Brocken Spectre phenomenon on Mount Rainier caught on Film

A Brocken spectre spectre, is the apparently enormous and magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun. meteorologists call it a glory.

The "spectre" is the shadowy figure - the rainbouw colored glow and rings resulting from the diffraction of light are a glory centered directly opposite the sun at the antisolar point.

Image: Brocken Spectre phenomenon on top of Mount Rainier.

The phenomenon can appear on any misty mountainside or cloud bank, even when seen from an aeroplane.

They are most easily seen when one is riding on the shadow side of an aircraft above the clouds. The ghost can appear to move because of the movement of the cloud layer and variations in density within the cloud.

Video 1: Witness spotted the rare Brocken Spectre phenomenon on top of Mount Rainier last September (2015).

 

Video 2: Another incredible Brocken Spectre phenomenon caught from a plane window above the misty Norwegian hills on December 20, 2015.