Aug 23, 2023
light pillars are vertical beam of light that appears above or below a light source, caused by the reflection of light from small ice crystals in the atmosphere or high-altitude clouds.
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light pillars are vertical beam of light that appears above or below a light source, caused by the reflection of light from small ice crystals in the atmosphere or high-altitude clouds.
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Pictured here are not auroras but light pillars! In most places on Earth, if you’re lucky you’ll be able to see a Sun pillar. It’s a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually, these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground and are sometimes known as a crystal fog. These small ice crystals may then reflect not the Sun but ground lights. The featured image captured not only numerous light pillars but also the iconic constellation of Orion, and was taken in Mohe, the northernmost city in China.
Image Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)
Light Pillar
Champlain Valley, Vermont
Pillar of Light
Rovaniemi, Finland 11/2022
Photo taken by: @lapinpitu
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i aspire to be like you. please have some of my favourite pics
Aww thank you!! I also aspired to be like me, and look at me now!! :D Also, Wow, that is a lot of cloud variety!!!
Image one is cumulus humilis, cumulus fractus, and cumulus humilis fluctus!
Image 2 was a little tricky for me, but I think I can nail it down as cirrus spissatus translucidus and altocumulus clouds. Also, light pillar!!
Image 3 looks to be nimbostratus mammatus praecipitatio, with the mamma being in the top right corner.
And image 4 cirrus intortus and cumulus fractus clouds.
Great spotting!!!
Astronomy Picture of the Day
2006 March 5
Colorful Light Pillars
Credit & Copyright: Walter Tape (Alaska Fairbanks), Figure 8-1, Atmospheric Halos
Explanation: How can an aurora appear so near the ground? Pictured above are not aurora but nearby light pillars, a local phenomenon that can appear as a distant one. In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun-pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually these ice ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow, sometimes known as a crystal fog. These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun-pillar. In the above picture, the colorful lights causing the light pillars surround a ice-skating rink in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
A service of: EUD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Light-Pillars-7:30AM-2026