Woman captures rare phenomenon called 'pilot's glory' en route to her honeymoon in incredible video

Nature often surprises us with unexpectedly beautiful sights, and on rare occasions, these moments align with special events in our lives. Such was the case for a couple who witnessed a rare phenomenon known as "glory" or "pilot's glory" during their flight to a honeymoon destination. The moment was captured on camera and shared on TikTok by user @little_birdie21, leaving viewers in awe of the stunning sight.

The text overlay of the video read, "POV: You witness the optical phenomenon 'Pilot's Glory' on the flight to your honeymoon." The video captured the stunning view from a plane window. There was a multitude of clouds tinged with a rainbow shade that looked like a sight in itself. But the real phenomenon was the plane's shadow on the clouds and the halo surrounding it. According to Newsweek, the video was shared by 37-year-old nurse Heather Reedy, who captured it as the plane was about to land in the Dominican Republic where the woman was headed for her honeymoon. The woman hadn't realized that the view had been captured until she viewed it two months later, as per the outlet.

"I noticed that the halo looked interesting, so I researched and found out that it isn't as common as we would think," Reedy shared. "This captivating sight is Pilot's Glory or Glory for short, but also has many other names: Pilot's Halo, Glory of the Pilot, and in Eastern cultures, it is known as Buddha's Light. It is one of the most beautiful and rare atmospheric phenomena one can experience. Though far less known than rainbows or regular halos, Pilot's Glory holds a special allure for its ethereal appearance and the unique conditions that are required for its formation," the caption of the video reads. 

The ring or the glory appears to move with the plane in such a scenario, as per IFLScience. The shadow of an object doesn't really have much to do with the phenomenon as per the outlet. The halo simply appears at the "anti-solar point" which is the point exactly opposite to the sun according to the viewer's perspective. The rainbow-colored ring is formed by the water droplets in the clouds that scatter the light back to its source. However, there's no clear explanation of all the factors involved in the occurrence of the phenomenon. Before aviation existed, climbers witnessed "glory" as per the outlet. The beautiful video received over 384.9k views and more than 8k likes.

People took to the comments section to appreciate the marvelous sight. @gwydionsilverhawk wrote, "I was skydiving and saw this as I fell through a cloud. I saw my shadow surrounded by a rainbow as I fell through, and I will never forget it!" @dp9354 commented, "Not me thinking that was another plane getting too close all these years." @_laren shared, "I saw this one of the first times I flew and I’ve never seen it again." @cyclecrap explained, "Sometimes it happens on the top of Scottish mountains. We call it the Brocken Spectre. It takes the form of the shadow of a human ( usually yourself) surrounded by a circle of light. It’s really spooky when you see it for the first time!" 

You can follow @little_birdie21 on TikTok for more lifestyle content.