Simulation of rainbows, coronas and glories using Mie theory and the Debye series

Abstract

The scattering of light from homogeneous spheres might be considered to be a trivial problem because rigorous solutions, such as Mie theory, were developed almost 100 years ago. Nevertheless, full-colour simulations of atmospheric optical effects, such as rainbows, coronas and glories, reveal several intriguing issues. Calculations using the Debye series can help us to understand the scattering mechanisms causing specific effects: for example, the atmospheric glory seems to be caused by light rays that have suffered one internal reflection within water drops.