Colorful light pillars appear over Samara Oblast
At night, bright light pillars appeared in the sky over Samara Oblast. The unusual phenomenon, which can be mistaken for the northern lights, was noticed by a resident of the urban-type settlement Lyubov Kireeva-Kazina. She shared mesmerizing photos.
«I wasn»t waiting for the light pillars, I just noticed them suddenly. And then it all started…« said Lyubov Kireeva-Kazina in an interview with a correspondent from 63.RU.
Our colleagues from NGS found out where «light pillars» come from.
«»Light pillars« occur during frosty periods. The phenomenon is associated with the formation of a suspension of ice crystals of a specific shape, refracting light from ground-based bright sources. In this process, vertically directed rays are formed, which are called »pillars,«» explained Oleg Kashin, a specialist at the Big Novosibirsk Planetarium.
Light pillars can be of different colors. The most mysterious and mystical are blue ones.
The phenomenon was also commented on by members of the astronomy enthusiasts club «AstroSamara»:
«Light pillars are a fairly rare natural optical phenomenon in the Samara region. For their formation, three weather factors must coincide: high air humidity, severe frost (from -13°C or 8.6°F), and no wind — calm conditions. Under such conditions, all moisture droplets in the air freeze, forming flat hexagonal plates or columns. These floating ice crystals reflect light very well from their surfaces and edges. Essentially, a light pillar is a vertical column formed from reflections of light from many falling ice »mirrors.« The color of the pillar is the same as the light source. In this case, the light source is artificial: street lamps, traffic lights, car headlights. There are also light pillars from natural luminaries — the Moon and the Sun. In the comments, there is an example of such a pillar with the Sun.»
Light pillars are also called light columns. Their appearance in the sky over Samara Oblast was facilitated by the severe frosts that have settled in the region.
And also in 2024, the northern lights could be observed. Look at the blazing skies over Samara, Tolyatti, Chapayevsk, and Syzran.
