the glory | EarthSky

View of airplane wing over clouds. Beneath it, a small shadow of the plane with a circular rainbow around it.

Airplane glory: What is it and how to spot one?

An airplane glory is easy to see, if you watch for it. It's the plane's shadow cast on a cloud, or the ground, surrounded by a halo of light.

Glory on an exoplanet: Reddish planet with circular concentric rainbow-like feature on right side, with stars in background.

Rainbow-like glory on an exoplanet is 1st-ever detected

For the 1st time, astronomers say they have detected a glory on an exoplanet. Glories are a natural phenomenon, but until now seen only on Earth and Venus.

Glory, above a sea of clouds

For Arnaud Besancon - an astrophotographer in Germany - a night of watching for Leonid meteors ended in a beautiful surprise.

Galaxy-scale fountain seen in full glory

At the core of the giant elliptical galaxy Abell 2597, a supermassive black hole is powering the cosmic equivalent of a gargantuan, ongoing fountain.

Perfect airplane glory

You might catch an airplane glory when a mist or cloud lies below you, with the sun shining upon it.

Space rainbow: Glory seen in Venus atmosphere

For the first time, a spacecraft has imaged a rainbow-like feature known as a ‘glory’ on another planet.

Some clouds are placed over a forest, there are some buildings too. The shadow of an air balloon and a halo are found in the clouds.

Glory, seen from a hot air balloon

Eileen Claffey saw this glory - formed when water droplets in the air scatter light backwards - this past weekend, while riding in a hot air balloon.

A rocky arc sits above a field of jagged rocks. In the dark blue sky behind, an arc of stars and dark cloudy dust stretches across the frame, with two white streaks shooting across the sky.

Stargazing in national parks around the world

Stargazing in national parks ... yes! Increasing light pollution in the United States makes national parks some of the last dark refuges.

Large gibbous moon, tiny red dot for Mars, ducks flying in a V, against slate-blue background.

Top 10 space objects to see during the day

Love astronomy, but don't like to stay up late? Here are the top 10 space objects you can see - under the right conditions - during the day.

Small shadow of plane on clouds with rainbow ring around frong half of the plane's shadow.

What is the Brocken Spectre? A misty figure in the fog

The Brocken Spectre is your own shadow cast on mists below you from high on a mountain. The shadow may appear enormous and has a rainbow ring around it.

Two airplane glories, half a world apart

Liz Dunster caught a photo of an airplane glory during a flight over North Carolina. Karthik Easvur caught a glory over India and provided a video!

What’s it like to see a total solar eclipse?

Words often fail when trying to explain the kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, feelings and emotions that consume us during this other-worldly event.

Crazy weather? You can’t blame HAARP anymore

The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) — target of conspiracy theorists — has closed down.

Death Valley and its mountain shadow mystery

What's the origin of the mysterious green line in a photo, along the boundary of a mountain shadow that's racing across a Death Valley desert floor?

Redwood of the reef is longest-lived animal

A new study estimates that one species of sponge can live to be 2,300 years old — that’s about the...

Red sky at sunset, with sun peeking through treetops, and people in the foreground watching.

Top 10 brightest objects in our solar system

Ready for some easy astronomy? How about the top 10 brightest objects in our solar system? You only need your eyes for 7 of them. Check them out here.

ESA’s 2025 calendar: Best of Hubble and Webb

The European Space Agency has announced its 2025 calendar, featuring the best images from Hubble and Webb from the past year. And it's free for you to download!

A hand holding a ball with a lake and its reflection inside.

EarthSky’s top photos from 2024: See them here!

See the top photos from 2024 submitted by our EarthSky community. We had an amazing year for skywatchers, from auroras to comets to a total solar eclipse.

Gegenschein is the glow of interplanetary dust

The gegenschein is a play of light on interplanetary dust of the solar system. It's a diffuse path of light that lies exactly opposite the sun.

Orangish moon peeping out from above a forested hillside.

Super Harvest Moon and eclipse pics here!

The Super Harvest Moon on September 17, 2024, was briefly darkened by Earth's shadow in a partial lunar eclipse. Check out some great photos of the event here!

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Airplane glory: What is it and how to spot one?

Rainbow-like glory on an exoplanet is 1st-ever detected

Glory, above a sea of clouds

Galaxy-scale fountain seen in full glory

Perfect airplane glory

Space rainbow: Glory seen in Venus atmosphere

Glory, seen from a hot air balloon

Stargazing in national parks around the world

Top 10 space objects to see during the day

What is the Brocken Spectre? A misty figure in the fog

Two airplane glories, half a world apart

What’s it like to see a total solar eclipse?

Crazy weather? You can’t blame HAARP anymore

Death Valley and its mountain shadow mystery

Redwood of the reef is longest-lived animal

Top 10 brightest objects in our solar system

ESA’s 2025 calendar: Best of Hubble and Webb

EarthSky’s top photos from 2024: See them here!

Gegenschein is the glow of interplanetary dust

Super Harvest Moon and eclipse pics here!