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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Солнечный столб над Онтарио http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1253341/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Rick Stankiewicz
(Peterborough Astronomical Association)
Explanation:
What is that on the horizon?
No, it's not an
alien starship
battling distant Earthlings, but rather a sun pillar.
When driving across
Ontario,
Canada in early June, the photographer
was surprised to encounter such an "eerie and beautiful" vista, and immediately took
pictures.
When atmospheric air is cold, ice sometimes forms flat six-sided
crystals as it falls from
high-level clouds.
Air resistance
then causes these crystals to
lie nearly flat much
of the time as they flutter to the ground.
If viewed toward a
rising or setting Sun, these
flat crystals will
reflect sunlight and create an unusual column of light -- a
sun pillar
as seen above.
Such columns of light are not uncommon to see, and a
retrospective of
past APODs
that have featured picturesque sun pillars can be found
here.
Challenge:
Find blogs running longer than APOD.
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.