Optical Effects in Air, Water and Ice

Most people take the weather for granted, for some it is even a nuisance. Those who aren't aware of the variety of natural optical effects can easily miss some of the most amazing sights in nature.

This is a personal picture collection so naturally I haven't covered everything. Living in the south of England also affects the range of phenomena visible because it has a fairly cloudy climate. The majority of the pictures have been taken from home, so there is no need to go to exotic places to see these things, although that can be fun of course !

For convenience the images are divided into three broad categories covering optical effects in air, water drops and ice crystals. Any effects not involving water drops or ice crystals are included under Glows.

There is only limited explanation of the causes of the phenomena because that has already been done in great detail on other sites, see Links.

Last updated 31st May 2010         Maintained by Richard Fleet