Backscatter

The opposite effect is forward scatter, e.g. when a translucent material like a cloud diffuses sunlight, giving soft light.

Sensor systems using multiple wavelengths or polarizations can thus be used to infer additional information about target properties.

Water is almost 4 times more reflective than ice but droplets are much smaller than snow flakes or hail stones.

The strongest backscatter comes from hail and large graupel (solid ice) due to their sizes, but non-Rayleigh (Mie scattering) effects can confuse interpretation.

Rain is a moderate backscatter, being stronger with large drops (such as from a thunderstorm) and much weaker with small droplets (such as mist or drizzle).

Due to the size limitations of the modern compact and ultra-compact cameras, especially digital cameras, the distance between the lens and the built-in flash has decreased, thereby decreasing the angle of light reflection to the lens and increasing the likelihood of light reflection off normally sub-visible particles.