Brocken's ghost - what is it?

In the XIX century in northern Africa was the Franco-Algerian war. One soldier (presumably a Frenchman) would be sent for reconnaissance. Suddenly ahead of himself in the fog, he saw the silhouette of a man. The soldier went to meet him, the figure also approached. The fighter decided to slaughter the unknown with his sword, but as soon as he pulled it out of its sheath, the figure melted.

Lovers of the unknown and the supernatural can decide that the soldier met with a guest from the other world. However, apparently, he witnessed the Brocken ghost - an unusual phenomenon, but well studied by modern science. Brocken's ghost - what is this? How to explain this phenomenon?

How does the "ghost" appear?

Broken ghosts are a very interesting phenomenon. It can be observed everywhere. Most often for this, the witness must be at the top - in the air or on the top of a high mountain, and a cloudy or foggy veil should spread before and below.

Brocken's ghost - what is this phenomenon? The sun should be behind the observer's back. The light from it falls into the fog on which its shadow forms. To the observer it often seems huge, because it involuntarily compares its size with the dimensions of the surrounding objects, which are much further and, of course, seem small. "Ghost" can make certain movements: he or follows a person when he moves, raises his hands or performs other actions, or fluctuates independently due to the movement of clouds, fluctuations in density in the cloud. In such moments, the shadow really creates a horrifying impression and can frighten an unprepared person.

Witch Mountain in Germany

The name "Brocken's ghost" phenomenon was obtained from the acute Broken mountain in Germany, which is part of the Harz ridge. Due to local climatic conditions, the "ghost" is constantly observed here. It happened continuously for many centuries, because of what Broken and his "ghost" firmly established in the folklore and beliefs of the ancient Germans. Saxon tribes made magical rites at the foot of the Broken mountain to propitiate the deity of Cortot. In their opinion, huge spirits-ghosts live at the top of the mountain, one of which, apparently, was Corto. These spirits could turn into humans and animals. From time to time they descended from the mountain and went to wander around the neighborhood, horrifying the nearby villages.

On the same mountain Broken, according to another famous legend, witches and sorcerers gather for their waltz in Walpurgis night. By the way, this is not just myths. On Walpurgis night (from April 30 to May 1) the pagan peoples had a holiday of the beginning of spring, which was usually celebrated with songs and dances around fires. When the Germans only began to accept Christianity, many adherents of old customs continued to celebrate this holiday, for which they went to the mountains. Many of them gathered on Mount Broken. Among these hardened pagans there were many women, especially the elderly, and this created a strong reputation for the witches. So Brocken strengthened his status of a place associated with evil spirits.

Gloria

But back to the "ghost". Often it accompanies an additional phenomenon - gloria. These are the colored rings surrounding the figure of the observer, a kind of multicolored halo. It appears due to the diffraction of light. In China and Japan, gloria has long been called "the light of the Buddha"; It is believed that only people with a pure heart can see this halo. Unfortunately, this belief does not correspond to reality: absolutely any person can see a glory.

Very often the Brocken ghost, surrounded by glory, is seen by observers from the plane - pilots and passengers. In this case, very suitable conditions are created for the formation of this phenomenon: the sun's rays fall on the plane, so that on the cloudy "pillow" at the bottom a huge projection is created - the figure of a flying liner, surrounded by a multicolored radiance.

Elementary physics

At first glance, the Brocken ghost is an unknown inexplicable phenomenon. But if you look at it from the side of physics, you can get it even while standing on the ground. It should be done early in the morning, when the streets are covered with fog. Place the light source so that it is behind your head. In this case, a figure appears. True, this experience is not always possible, because often fog covers the street entirely, so that the observer is also inside it.

A similar principle, as many guess, lies in the operation of the projector and the camera: the light of the lamp passes through a film with an image, the shadow of which, greatly enlarged in size, is projected onto the screen.

And again Brocken

Let's say a few words about the German "witch hill". During the existence of the GDR, it housed the base of the odious intelligence service - the Stasi. This is a hybrid of the Gestapo and the Soviet KGB. And the reason for choosing this place was simple: the state border between the GDR and the FRG passed through the Harz mountain system, and it was convenient for the East Germans to observe their capitalist brethren from here. Thus, even in the twentieth century Broken became the site of gatherings of secret forces.

Today, in a building that was at that time occupied by the Stasi, there is a museum dedicated to the natural beauties of Harz and the modern history of Germany.

As for the "ghost", it can be constantly observed in many mountain systems. Tourists in this regard are well-known mountains in Wales, as well as Hawaiian national park Haleakala.

Scientific interest

Today, the Brocken ghost can scare only an extremely sensitive or ignorant person, especially if the latter is reading books about paranormal phenomena or watching the broadcasts of relevant topics. Physics long ago unraveled the mystery of unusual shadows in the fog. For the first time, a Brockens ghost was interested in the scientists in the 18th century: in 1780 the German scholar and theologian Johann Silbershlag described this phenomenon. In our country, little is known about this thinker, but one of the craters on the Moon was named after him .

In 1797, another scientist, Haue, saw the giant figure on the mountain. He stood at the very top, when suddenly a strong wind came down. He was afraid that his hat would fly away, and he grabbed for it; To his surprise, the "giant" did the same thing. The researcher started jumping, waving his arms, walking from side to side, and the figure repeated after him. Then Howe guessed that the mysterious vision was just a shadow of himself.

Ghosts in Clausthal

The inhabitants of a small town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld can in a sense be called happy. After all, this city is located directly at the mountain Broken, which means that they can observe the unusual phenomenon of nature constantly. With the "witch mountain" is associated with the glorious past of the city, when it actively pursued the extraction of minerals. In the first half of the twentieth century, their development ended, but the city continues to develop thanks to other branches of the economy.

Brocken's ghost or an unusual self-portrait in Andalusia

It happens that Brocken ghosts appear in an unusual form. This phenomenon was observed by a group of scientists, who once rose to the top of one of the mountains in Andalusia. It happened in the morning: the sun was still rising, and the whole western side was covered with thick fog. Turning there, the scientists saw a huge "photo" on which they were imprinted all of them, their dogs and even the rock on which they stood. The image was framed by a multicolored radiance. When the sun rose higher, the "photo" melted.