What is a sun pillar or a light pillar?


Sun pillar: Horizontal stripes of orange light on horizon with one glowing orange pillar of light straight up.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Raul Cortes in Oslo, Norway, captured this photo of a sun pillar during a sunset over Oslo on January 14, 2021. Thank you, Raul! Sun pillars are beautiful and eye catching.

What are sun pillars and light pillars?

Sun pillars and light pillars are beams of light that extend vertically upward (or downward) from a bright light source, such as the sun or another bright light low on the horizon. They can be 5 to 10 degrees high and sometimes even higher. In fact, they might lengthen or brighten as you gaze at them.

They’re beautiful and wondrous. And they’re also the source of some UFO reports!

Available now! 2023 EarthSky lunar calendar. A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar showing phases of the moon every night of the year! And it makes a great gift.

Colorful sky just after sunset, with a horizontal plume of light going upward from the horizon next to dark trees.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Penelope Parson from Brooklin, Maine, captured this photo of a solar pillar on January 8, 2021, just after sunset. She explained that she has “never seen a sun pillar!” Thank you Penelope!
Orange, yellow and red sky with faint but distinct yellow beam of light extending upward from horizon.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Susan Ogan in Marblehead, Massachusetts, captured this photo of a sun pillar on December 30, 2020. She wrote: “This image was taken at sunrise. I took it in honor of all the people who are grieving a loss of someone special. I frequently photograph sunrises and was awestruck by this rare sun pillar and am reminded that there is a pathway to the heavens and we are all connected through the beauty of the sun. Stand strong.” Beautiful! Thank you, Susan.

Sun pillars or light pillars form when sunlight (or another bright light source) reflects off the surfaces of millions of falling ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds – for example, cirrostratus clouds. The ice crystals have roughly horizontal faces. They are falling through Earth’s atmosphere, rocking slightly from side to side.

When is the best time to see a sun pillar or light pillar?

You’ll most often see sun pillars when the sun is low in the western sky before sunset, or low in the east just after the breaking of dawn. However, you might even see a sun pillar when the sun is below the horizon. On the other hand, you can see light pillars at any time of night.

They’re called sun pillars when the sun helps make them. But the moon or even streetlights can create this light phenomenon, too, in which case the name light pillar is more appropriate.

These pillars of light often prompt people to report sightings of UFOs. They can sometimes look strange! In fact, light pillars trigger a lot of UFO reports over Niagara Falls, where the mist from the rush of descending water interacts with the city’s many upward facing spotlights. Light pillars do appear frequently over Niagara Falls, especially during the winter.

By the way, Les Cowley’s great website Atmospheric Optics is a wonderful place to go and learn more about sun pillars.

Bottom line: In the right conditions, you can see vertical shafts of light extending upward or downward from the sun or other bright light sources. These are called sun pillars or light pillars, and are caused by light reflecting from hexagonal ice crystals drifting in Earth’s atmosphere.

The post What is a sun pillar or a light pillar? first appeared on EarthSky.



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Sun pillar: Horizontal stripes of orange light on horizon with one glowing orange pillar of light straight up.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Raul Cortes in Oslo, Norway, captured this photo of a sun pillar during a sunset over Oslo on January 14, 2021. Thank you, Raul! Sun pillars are beautiful and eye catching.

What are sun pillars and light pillars?

Sun pillars and light pillars are beams of light that extend vertically upward (or downward) from a bright light source, such as the sun or another bright light low on the horizon. They can be 5 to 10 degrees high and sometimes even higher. In fact, they might lengthen or brighten as you gaze at them.

They’re beautiful and wondrous. And they’re also the source of some UFO reports!

Available now! 2023 EarthSky lunar calendar. A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar showing phases of the moon every night of the year! And it makes a great gift.

Colorful sky just after sunset, with a horizontal plume of light going upward from the horizon next to dark trees.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Penelope Parson from Brooklin, Maine, captured this photo of a solar pillar on January 8, 2021, just after sunset. She explained that she has “never seen a sun pillar!” Thank you Penelope!
Orange, yellow and red sky with faint but distinct yellow beam of light extending upward from horizon.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Susan Ogan in Marblehead, Massachusetts, captured this photo of a sun pillar on December 30, 2020. She wrote: “This image was taken at sunrise. I took it in honor of all the people who are grieving a loss of someone special. I frequently photograph sunrises and was awestruck by this rare sun pillar and am reminded that there is a pathway to the heavens and we are all connected through the beauty of the sun. Stand strong.” Beautiful! Thank you, Susan.

Sun pillars or light pillars form when sunlight (or another bright light source) reflects off the surfaces of millions of falling ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds – for example, cirrostratus clouds. The ice crystals have roughly horizontal faces. They are falling through Earth’s atmosphere, rocking slightly from side to side.

When is the best time to see a sun pillar or light pillar?

You’ll most often see sun pillars when the sun is low in the western sky before sunset, or low in the east just after the breaking of dawn. However, you might even see a sun pillar when the sun is below the horizon. On the other hand, you can see light pillars at any time of night.

They’re called sun pillars when the sun helps make them. But the moon or even streetlights can create this light phenomenon, too, in which case the name light pillar is more appropriate.

These pillars of light often prompt people to report sightings of UFOs. They can sometimes look strange! In fact, light pillars trigger a lot of UFO reports over Niagara Falls, where the mist from the rush of descending water interacts with the city’s many upward facing spotlights. Light pillars do appear frequently over Niagara Falls, especially during the winter.

By the way, Les Cowley’s great website Atmospheric Optics is a wonderful place to go and learn more about sun pillars.

Bottom line: In the right conditions, you can see vertical shafts of light extending upward or downward from the sun or other bright light sources. These are called sun pillars or light pillars, and are caused by light reflecting from hexagonal ice crystals drifting in Earth’s atmosphere.

The post What is a sun pillar or a light pillar? first appeared on EarthSky.



from EarthSky https://ift.tt/bfnFMsk
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