Phenomenal Wonders of the Natural World, - Light Pillars

Light Pillars

(Images via: Apod, Kulgun, Arborsci, Wikipedia and Wikipedia)

Light pillars appear as eerily upright luminous columns in the sky, beacons cast into the air above without an apparent source. These are visible when light reflects just right off of ice crystals from either the sun (as in the two top images above) or from artificial ground sources such as street or park lights. Despite their appearance as near-solid columns of light, the effect is entirely created by our own relative viewpoint.