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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.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: light - ice crystals
Publications with words: light - ice crystals
See also:
- APOD: 2026 March 23 Á Light Pillars and Orion over Mohe
- APOD: 2025 February 24 Á Light Pillar over Erupting Etna
- APOD: 2024 June 9 Á How to Identify that Light in the Sky
- APOD: 2024 March 4 Á Light Pillars Over Inner Mongolia
- Jyvöskylö in the Sky
- Light Pillar over Volcanic Etna
- How to Identify that Light in the Sky