Lucky are the inhabitants of Russia who managed to catch the pillars of light in the sky. Like a warm light show, the sky lit up with a little-known natural phenomenon, but possible to experience on Earth. It seems that natural phenomena during winter become more and more spectacular and we want to know more about them.
What are the pillars of light?
This luminescent phenomenon is a natural optical illusion that occurs most frequently in northern latitudes. However, this does not happen all year round, it is only in winter when the climatic conditions occur to produce this light show.
Pillars of light are these vertical lines, much like the Northern Lights, emerging brightly from the horizon into the sky. They can be seen in different colors depending on the reflection of light.
Image: Bav Media
How are lights formed in the sky?
These lights are created thanks to the reflection of light coming from various frozen ice crystals that lie in the atmosphere or clouds. If the light feeding the reflection is solar, then it is known as a solar pillar.
However, the light can also come from the moon or other sources of artificial light, such as the lights of our houses or the street. Due to the interaction that is generated between the light and the ice crystals, a phenomenon of light is formed that is usually projected up or down creating a vertical line.
Light pillars in Russia
In a perfect combination created by the atmosphere and light, the inhabitants of the city of Tyumen in Russia had the opportunity to observe the warm lights of this phenomenon. Although it is a studied phenomenon, the reality is that it does not happen frequently, but when we look at them we understand their amorphous magic.
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