Sun Pillar - An Atmospheric Optical Phenomenon

The photo I want to talk about today was another photo from the archives that I took back in mid Dec of 2008 while I was living in upstate NY.  The sky that particular evening was filled with beautiful bright reds, oranges and magentas. But wait...what was that odd light formation in the sky??? I had never seen one before and wasn't sure what it was but I knew one thing.. I better go run in the house and grab my camera ASAP! Luckily that only took me a minute as this beautiful sight did not last long and to this day I have never seen another one.  It was called a light pillar or sun pillar. and usually seen when the sun in near the horizon.Have you ever heard of one or seen one???

A sun pillar is a vertical shaft of light extending upward or downward from the sun. Typically seen during sunrise or sunset, sun pillars form when sunlight reflects off the surfaces of falling ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds (like cirrostratus clouds).  (Information obtained from University of Illonois)

Sun Pillar in December -Photo by Julie Everhart

Maybe I could say this was pretty much beginners luck for me to photograph such a beautiful natural phenomenon or I could just say right time, right place?  Either way, I was glad to get a few shots and more than happy to share it with you all here.

Thank you for stopping by and remember to keep those cameras clicking!

Julie
www.fromcameratowall.com