LIGHT PILLARS

A light 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 comprise high-altitude clouds.

When extreme cold weather hits, ice crystals or tiny discs of ice may form. Usually these ice crystals evaporate before ever reaching the ground. When sunlight or moonlight is reflected on these ice crystals, thin columns that extend vertically above and/or below the source of light are created.

As the Weather Doctor states, “Because the light rays forming pillars are reflected, they take on the color of the incident light. For example, when the sun is higher in the sky, pillars are white or bright yellow in color. But when it is near the horizon and its light color dominantly orange, gold or red, so is the resulting pillar.”

Since they are caused by the interaction of light with ice crystals, light pillars belong to the family of halos. The crystals responsible for light pillars usually consist of flat, hexagonal plates, which tend to orient themselves more or less horizontally as they fall through the air. Each flake acts as a tiny mirror which reflects light sources which are directly above or below it, and the presence of flakes at a spread of altitudes causes the reflection to be elongated vertically into a column. The larger and more numerous the crystals, the more pronounced this effect becomes. More rarely, column-shaped crystals can cause light pillars as well. In very cold weather, the ice crystals can be suspended near the ground, in which case they are referred to as diamond dust.

Unlike a light beam, a light pillar is not physically located above or below the light source. Its appearance of a vertical line is an optical illusion, resulting from the collective reflection off the ice crystals, only those of which that appear to lie in a vertical line direct the light rays towards the observer (similar to the reflection of a light source in a body of water).



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pillar
https://mymodernmet.com/stunning-photos-light-pillars/