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Credit & Copyright: Allisha Libby
Explanation:
What's happening behind those houses?
Pictured here are not
auroras but nearby
light pillars,
a nearby 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 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.
The featured image was taken in
Fort
Wainwright near
Fairbanks in central
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: ice crystals
Publications with words: ice crystals
See also: