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March 16, 2001

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Several months prior, December to be more precise, I posted a few pictures
of a sunset that was quite spectacular.
    Several people replied and acknowledged the fact that the sun appeared
to shoot straight up into the sky. It was extremely impressive.

    It shows a good example of what is called 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, stop-sign
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-pillar effect. In the above picture, a sun-pillar reflects light
from a setting Sun."