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image credit: Thorleif Rødland



have you ever seen a sun pillar ?

when the air is cold and the Sun is rising or setting, falling ice crystals can reflect sunlight and create an unusual column of light

ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided shaped crystals as it falls from high-level clouds

air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground

sunlight reflects off crystals that are properly aligned, creating the sun-sun-pillar effect

in the featured picture taken last year, a sun-pillar reflects light from a Sun setting over Fensfjorden, Norway















in apod.nasa.gov/apod