Light pillars in the sky - what is it?

The most interesting phenomenon in nature, which is observed quite often, is the appearance of light columns, which seem to connect heaven and earth. Many people accepted their appearance for various omens, both good and ominous.

Someone declared them a manifestation of divine benevolence, and someone - a threat of great destruction, pestilence and hunger. What do light columns in the sky mean and what is the nature of their occurrence, this article will help you to know.

What is this phenomenon

The light columns appearing in the sky are perfectly vertical, brightly shining columns stretching from the sun (or moon) to the ground or from it to the luminary during sunset or sunrise, i.e. when the light source is low, at the horizon. You can see them higher or lower than the sun (moon), it all depends on the location of the observer. The color of the column is identical to the shade of the luminary at this moment: if it is yellow, then the phenomenon is the same.

As interpreted by scientists

Light columns - a very common version of the halo - the so-called optical phenomenon, which appears under certain conditions around the light source. When you first see this phenomenon, it is difficult to believe in the natural nature of its origin - so clearly a resemblance to the searchlight beams.

In fact, the light of the sun (or moon) interacts with the ice crystals formed in the layers of the atmosphere , which reflect it. This explanation is too simple, it characterizes the mechanism of appearance of the phenomenon, but does not clarify the conditions under which the appearance of light columns becomes possible. Understand what circumstances this phenomenon occurs and what it means.

Light posts: how they arise, why we see them

Most often, such optical effects appear in the cold season. This is due to the fact that for the emergence of a column in the Earth's atmosphere should form ice crystals, and the sun - to be low enough. At low air temperatures, many hexahedral ice crystals are formed in the atmosphere, capable of reflecting light rays. But it is not uncommon for such an effect to occur in a warmer time of the year. This can occur at a time when crescent clouds are observed in the sky - they also form pillared hexagonal ice crystals.

Sunlight or moonbeams, bursting into the atmosphere at a speed of over 300 thousand kilometers per second, collide with the ice crystals weighed in the air. It is this circumstance that is fundamental for the appearance of the halo. The play of light with these ice cubes makes it possible to observe the tremendous phenomenon formed at an altitude of about 8 km.

In the cold, ice crystals are formed much lower, and thanks to this, the light columns (photo presented in the article) have very clear contours and are visually perceived better. The spectacle is amazing - beautiful and exciting.

Formation of the phenomenon

Scientists trace several variants of the formation of an optical effect depending on the shape of the crystals and the finding of a light source. Light columns appear as follows:

• If the ice crystals have a flat hexagonal shape, then when they fall they take a horizontal position, the pillared ones are lowered by even standing rows. Hanging in the cold air, they serve as a prism, breaking the light beam that hits them.
• Reflected light forms a kind of lens that floats in the air and transmits a powerful beam through itself.
• Which crystals are involved in creating a similar effect (flat or columnar) depends on the location of the light at this point. In a position at an angle of 6˚ to the surface of the earth - these are flat hexahedrons. If the sun turns out to be at an angle of 20˚, then the light column is formed by refraction in the pillared crystals.

The phenomenon of artificial origin

So, cold and humidity are the main components in the emergence of favorable prerequisites for the formation in the atmosphere of the Earth of suspended ice crystals, faceted from six sides. They can be refracted by light from various sources - both from celestial and streetlights or car headlights. The light refracted in them gives a specific effect, representing a perpendicular to the earth, a sharply outlined bright strip. Residents of northern cities are witnessing a rare phenomenon, whose name is a light forest.

This is because the falling flat crystals-hexagons do not evaporate on the road to the ground in winter because of the minus temperature, but turn into a sort of dense fog that can reflect the light of terrestrial sources and form light columns very similar to natural ones. Such rays are much longer, since the light source is located lower.

Difference from the Northern Lights

The nature of the onset of these two optical phenomena is different. Polar lights are a product of flares of geomagnetic storms, when the magnetic field of the planet is disturbed by "gusts" of the solar wind. It is they, invading the magnetosphere of the Earth, make it shine like a television picture tube does. Usually, the northern lights are shown by greenish-lilac flashes on a large area of the celestial vault.

The mechanism of the formation of light rays is strikingly different, so one can not confuse these optical phenomena.

In our publication, the causes of the surprising optical effect are explained and explanations are given of what light columns mean. The photos presented in the article clearly demonstrate the beauty of a rare phenomenon.