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How does an airplane produce a glory?

A glory is a set of colored rings that appears on the top surface of a cloud, directly beneath the observer. Although it's possible to view a glory by climbing a mountain until you're above the clouds, it's much easier to look at one from an airplane window. Because they are most often seen from airplanes, glories are generally thought of as the rings of color that surround the shadow of an airplane.

A glory is not produced by an airplane, but by a complex process involving the interaction of sunlight and cloud droplets. First, sunlight is refracted (bent) as it enters a droplet. The refracted light then reflects off the back of the droplet. Next, the light skims the opposite surface of the droplet. As it follows the edge of the droplet, it bends slightly. The light then exits the droplet on a path that's parallel to its entry path.

As the sunlight bends around the...

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