However, if the Brocken isn't exactly in walking distance you can also head to any high up place which is partial to foggy, cloudy weather with a spot of sun. Occurrences here have been common since Johann Silberschlag first described Brocken specters back in 1780. A good place to start is the optical illusion’s namesake, the Brocken peak in the foggy Harz mountains of Germany. The optical illusion is known as a Brocken spectre, and according to the Met Office, it often occurs on mountaintops when someone is standing above a cloud with the sun behind them. If you want to have a go at making your very own Brocken specter, the best way to find suitable misty opportunities is hiking. Image credit: Michel Royon / Wikimedia Commons ( CC BY-SA 3.0) Planes can make Brocken specters as they block the sun from low-lying clouds. Brocken Spectre: What is it and what causes it 31 October 2019. While glories are formed through a similar process to rainbows, they are different in that the angle of a glory from its source is much smaller meaning the light diffracts, reflects, and refracts in water droplets at different angles. Diffraction occurs when sunlight penetrates water droplets. This is due to a process called diffraction. It happens when light interacts with water droplets, creating concentric rings that shift from red to blue resembling something like a rainbow dartboard. A Brocken spectre occurs when the sun shines behind a person standing on a peak above clouds or fog, casting a magnified shadow and a large halo onto the misty depths below. The technicolor cherry on top of the optical illusion is the appearance of a halo, or glory, which appears like colorful rings around the shadow of the head. Image credit: Andrew via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 A walker casts a Brocken specter in Bwlch Tryfan on Snowdonia. The meaning of BROCKEN SPECTER is an optical phenomenon sometimes seen from the summit of mountains or from an aircraft when the observer is between the sun. (Photo: Stock Photos from MAGMAC83/Shutterstock) The Brocken specular and similar solar glories have long fascinated observers. A tourist takes a photo of a Brocken Spectre in the High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia. It’s effectively nature’s very own Wacky, Waving, Inflatable-Arm-Flailing Tube Man. Tasting note: Aimed at creating a gin that would perfectly marry with tonic, this offers a very pure, creamy nose-feel -. The Brocken spectre is an optical phenomenon which appears when the sun shines from behind someone and casts a shadow upon clouds below. The effect gives the entire ensemble a rather psychedelic feel as your silhouette creates a groovy, waving shadow giant. The Brocken spectre is an optical phenomenon which appears when the sun shines from behind someone and casts a shadow upon clouds below. Better yet, clouds are dynamic entities and as their water droplets shift so too can the shadow making it move.