Sun pillar, stunning optical phenomenon, appeared at sunrise
This morning’s sun rise included a sun pillar, a stunning optical phenomenon that appears as a vertical shaft of light extending up from the sun.
Tara Thom took the top photo on Gaines Basin Road at 7:36 a.m.
A sun pillar is caused by sunlight reflecting off tiny, flat, hexagonal ice crystals that flutter in the atmosphere from high-altitude clouds. That creates a glowing column.
“They develop as a result of ice crystals slowly falling through the air, reflecting the sun’s rays off of them,” the National Weather Service says. “Look for sun pillars when the sun is low on the horizon, and cirrus clouds are present.”
Theresa Ann Ottaviano took this photo behind her house on Telegraph Road in Medina.
Marsha Rivers took this photo from the elementary school parking lot in Albion, looking across Clarendon Road towards the Albion Town Hall.
