Glory at Kalalau

Do you know what a glory is?

I saw one for the first time on my last day up at Koke'e earlier this week. Showing you the photograph instantly explains it: that's the shadow of my head and arms sticking out as I shoot the photo with legs below.

While taking pictures once it started the phenomenon is unmistakable. First though is, "There must be a name for this." Moving my head and arms clearly confirmed that that really was my shadow projecting on the mountain side a few thousand feet away. The rainbow-like circles centered around my head, presumably because my eyes are there.

Exactly how these occur seems to be not as well understood by science as rainbows are. Some references I found, the first being simple, and the latter way more mathematical.

• Glory description by the Hong Kong Weather bureau 
• The Mathematical Physics of Rainbows and Glories

It lasted for about three minutes and was quite a sight to see, then just ended and the usual view returned. No, I was not playing around with Photoshop (the photo is unretouched). It was incredible and I wonder if I will ever see another glory or not.

Rainbows are fairly routine around here on the north shore. Saw one driving out here in late afternoon and then again yesterday on a short stroll to the beach. The house I am staying in is on a side street set back a few houses from the ocean, but in less than five minutes I can walk out to the surf.

Yesterday's rainbow was nearly 180 degrees horizon to horizon: it petered out on the left into the clouds hanging over the horizon but was strong extending down on the right all the way to the trees to the east. A bit of rain was blowing so I had to take cover behind a large tree trunk and work to get an angle to shoot without water blowing into the lens.
(The pair of photos should be "book ends" but I didn't think to align them. They are shot just seconds apart.)

It happens that these two sightings are at the two ends of the highway that runs around the island (here in Haena is about three miles from the very end of the road - I should work on finding a rainbow out at Ke'e beach).