Fogbow at Dawn
October 03, 2019
Photographer: Dávid Kacs
Summary Authors: Dávid Kacs; Jim Foster
Featured above is a nearly colorless cloud bow or fogbow as observed just after dawn in the Somogy area of Hungary, not far from the city of Kaposvár. A little rain had fallen the previous evening, and overnight the temperatures dropped, so I suspected that there would be fog in the valley. I waited for just the right moment and was able to capture this, alluring bow. Unlike rainbows, fogbows occur when light (sunlight, moonlight, streetlights, etc.) interacts with tiny droplets of fog that are typically 10 to over 100 times smaller than a raindrop. Since the droplets are so small, colors that emerge are considerably muted. Of course, as is the case with rainbows, to be seen the source of illumination must be 180 degrees from where the observed is looking – at the observer's back. Photo taken on September 4, 2019.