What Are the Light Pillars Over Volgograd Oblast?

In recent days, unusual optical phenomena resembling light pillars or giant candles have appeared in the sky over Volgograd Oblast. At night, these vertical bands of light are especially noticeable, creating the impression that someone is directing a powerful flashlight from the heavens.

Specialists identify the phenomenon as solar (light) pillars. Their formation is linked to the intense movement of air masses and a sharp drop in temperature, leading to the appearance of flat ice crystals in the atmosphere that reflect light.

Recently, another atmospheric phenomenon—halo, manifesting as a rainbow-like halo around the Sun—has also been recorded in the oblast.

Planetarium methodologist Galina Timonina explains the nature of halo: «This phenomenon is caused primarily by ice crystals in cirrus clouds in the upper layers of the troposphere at an altitude of 5–10 kilometers (16,400–32,800 feet). It can have different forms. Circles are the most common. They usually appear around light sources—the Sun or the Moon. Halo is often a symptom of bad weather.»