ATMOSPHERIC  OPTICAL  PHENOMENA

I.  Scattering Phenomena                                                          

    A.  Mie-Scattering Phenomena (all colors scattered equally)

        1.  White clouds
        2.  Whitish sky (from suspended particles)
        3.  Crepuscular rays
        4.  Red sunsets**
        5.  Twilight**

    B.  Rayleigh-Scattering Phenomena (preferential scattering of shorter wavelengths)

        1.  Blue skies
        2.  Red sunsets**
        3.  Twilight**
        4.  Distant mountain blueness

II. Reflection Phenomena                                                         

     A.  Water Reflection Phenomena

        1.  Rainbows* (primary and secondary)
        2.  Heiligenschein
        3.  Glory**/Brocken bow**

     B.  Ice Reflection Phenomena

        1.  Glory**/Brocken bow**
        2.  Sun pillars

III.  Refraction Phenomena                                                       

    A.  Air Refraction Phenomena

        1.  Image displacement
        2.  Twinkling
        3.  Twilight**
        4.  The green flash
        5.  Oblate solar and lunar images at ---rise and ---set
        6.  Mirages (inferior and superior)
        7.  "Seeing"

    B.  Water Refraction Phenomena

        1.  Rainbows (primary and secondary)*

    C.  Ice Refraction Phenomena

        1.  Halos (22° and 46°)
        2.  Tangent arcs
        3.  Sun dogs
        4.  Circumzenithal arcs

IV.  Interference Phenomena                                                    

    A.  Coronae

    B.  Cloud iridescence

    C.  Glory**/Brocken bow**

V.  Absorption Phenomena                                                        

   A.  Reddening of sunlight by particulates--Red sunsets**

*Asterisks indicate phenomena involving more than one process (one extra per asterisk). In each case the phenomenon is  high-lighted where listed beneath its most essential cause, e.g., both refraction by water and reflection by water are involved in producing a rainbow but dispersion of colors occurs by refraction, hence "rainbows" is high-lighted where listed under "water refraction."