A ghost in the sky and in broad daylight? This is not a Halloween story to scare people but a concrete case, immortalized by a photographer. And we have the explanation.
A few days before Halloween, one might believe in the scenario of a horror film to scare oneself… But it is not so. Captured by a photographer, in the right place at the right time, this image shows what appears to be… the silhouette of a ghost! But there is a very concrete explanation for this phenomenon which seems paranormal.
This story is that of Chris Atkinson, a wildlife photographer from East Yorkshire, England. He went to the seaside in search of new shots of birds in October last year, and finally witnessed a breathtaking scene. As he scanned the horizon, a human-like figure suddenly appeared in the sky, surrounded by a striking halo of light. Instinctively, he placed himself in the place he considered ideal to immortalize this moment and above all to have palpable proof of his vision without seeming like a deranged person. The result? A mystical, almost unreal photo, which is enough to reinforce the opinion of those who firmly believe in spirits and other ghosts.
But behind this impressive photograph hides a scientific explanation that has a name. This phenomenon is called the Brocken spectrum and was first observed in Germany in 1780. It is an optical illusion that occurs when a person’s shadow, cast on a cloud or mist, is surrounded by a colored halo, often caused by the diffraction of sunlight. Moreover, this illusion makes the shadow of the person appear much larger than reality.
The photographer told the BBC that this single photo occupies “directly to the top of the stack” in her photo albums. The visitor reception manager at Bempton Cliffs Nature Reserve, where the photo was taken, said the team had never observed Brocken’s wraiths before at the site…
