light pillar
Sign in to saveAlso known as sun pillar, solar pillar
atmospheric optical phenomenon in the form of a vertical band of light which appears to extend above and/or below a light source
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- halo
- Image
- Light pillars over Laramie Wyoming in winter night.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- has cause
- ice crystal
- Commons category
- Sun pillars
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Light pillars in London, Ontario, Canada Sun pillar in San Francisco, California A light pillar or ice pillar is an atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source. The effect is created by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere or that compose high-altitude clouds (e.g. cirrostratus or cirrus clouds). If the light comes from the Sun (usually when it is near or even below the horizon), the phenomenon is called a sun pillar or solar pillar. Light pillars can also be caused by the Moon or terrestrial sources, such as streetlights and erupting volcanoes.
Formation
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “light pillar” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.