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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.
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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: Sun Pillar - clouds - ice crystals
Publications with words: Sun Pillar - clouds - ice crystals
See also:
- Nacreous Clouds over Sweden
- APOD: 2024 November 19 Á Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory
- APOD: 2024 July 7 Á Iridescent Clouds over Sweden
- Jyvöskylö in the Sky
- APOD: 2023 August 20 Á A Roll Cloud Over Wisconsin
- APOD: 2023 February 12 Á Mammatus Clouds over Nebraska
- Nacreous Clouds over Lapland