What positions would the Earth, Sun and viewer need to be to see a glory (a rainbow-like effect) from space?
What position would they need to be in to reproduce this picture?
Source: Gizmodo (NASA via Universe Today)
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3$\begingroup$ That's not a rainbow, that's a glory. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_(optical_phenomenon) $\endgroup$– James KMar 13, 2019 at 19:51
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1$\begingroup$ The satellite takes a image at an angle, then the image is processed to make it appear that the satellite is looking straight down. In the processing, any circles get distorted. Rainbows are always 42 degrees (on Earth). That's not a rainbow. $\endgroup$– James KMar 13, 2019 at 20:03
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1$\begingroup$ Since the word "rainbow" has multiple meanings it's best to call it what it seems to be, a glory. The spread of colors it produces can be called a "rainbow-like effect" for example. I've adjusted the wording to avoid the confusion. But I think this question is about an atmospheric effect seen in an Earth-observing satellite and doesn't involve Astronomy at all, so I think it's off-topic here but an excellent question in Earthscience SE. Why not move it now before someone posts an answer and you can't delete it? $\endgroup$– uhohMar 14, 2019 at 1:24
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$\begingroup$ double rainbow! original and extra crispy $\endgroup$– uhohMar 14, 2019 at 2:33
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1$\begingroup$ @uhoh a double rainbow glory? $\endgroup$– MuzeMar 14, 2019 at 19:39
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1 Answer
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A glory is a rainbow-colored bullseye appearing directly opposite the Sun due to diffraction by water droplets of a certain size. From an airplane, you can sometimes see this effect surrounding the airplane's shadow. As the NASA article explains, the polar orbiting Terra satellite's scan pattern transformed the circular rings into elongated ovals.
