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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Солнечная колонна над Северной Каролиной http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1232402/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Terry Holdsclaw
Explanation:
Have you ever seen a sun pillar?
When the air is cold and the Sun is rising or
setting, falling ice
crystals
can reflect sunlight and create an
unusual column of light.
Ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided
shaped crystals as it falls from high-level
clouds.
Air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly
flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground.
Sunlight reflects off crystals that are
properly aligned,
creating the
sun-pillar
effect.
In the
above picture
taken in 2007 January, a
sun-pillar reflects light from a Sun setting over
Lake Norman,
North Carolina,
USA.
Note : APOD Editor to Speak in New York on Jan. 2
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.