Brocken spectre effect - Beeley Moor

With plenty of mist around at the moment there is a chance of seeing the Brocken Spectre effect again. I was on East Moor this afternoon with the sun behind me and the mist rising from Holymoorside when I witnessed the mist halo effect. It didn't last for more than a few minutes but was quite striking. 

Brocken Spectre - East Moor

Brocken spectre - Beeley mist halo

Thanks to June Oliver we have a name for the mist halo effect seen over the weekend. It's a Brocken spectre named after the Brocken, a peak in the Hartz Mountains in Germany where it was first described. There are plenty of photos of the effect on the internet.

Here are a couple more photos from the weekend taken by Ken and June.

Brocken Spectre - Beeley Moor (Ken Smith)

Brocken Spectre (June Oliver)

Beeley Moor - mist halo effect

Very misty this morning up to about 1000 feet early on but it gradually cleared by mid-morning on the moor. 

There was an unusual light effect as mist rose from Beeley village. With the sun behind Ken and I it created a halo effect which I have never seen so pronounced before. I'm sure it will have a meteorological name.

We saw little on the moor although at least two Wheater are still present on Screetham Lane. With the mist causing visibility problems we joined Simon Roddis, Alan Stewardson and Mick Taylor ar Upperloads. At about 10am we saw a party of about 150 Pink-footed Geese flying west in the distance between Chesterfield and Sheffield at about 5-7 miles distance followed by several more parties totalling perhaps 1000 birds which are my first of the Autumn. I also had my first party of returning Redwing during the morning.

Beeley Moor - mist