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Enjoy!
Thanks Geck. The temp in the surface was around 15ºC, that is well over the freezing temp, and from I have learned you need ice cristals in the atmosphere to see a sun pillar. Maybe moisture in the air produces a similar effect? Also, from I can see in the web it is not usual for sun pillars to end in such bright spot. Maybe it was indeed a sun pillar (an atypical one?).geckzilla wrote:It looks like a sun pillar to me.aldomottino wrote:Hi all,
The first picture was taken from my backyard at sunset. I was surprised to see such bright spot in the dark clouds since the sun was already below the horizon (18:30 local time aprox). So I moved immediately to the second floor roof and got the second image, and soon after that a zoom image. Minutes later the bright spot just disappeared.
I don’t think it was a sun pillar because the temp wasn’t too low, and sun pillars actually don’t look like that. Probably it was just a very isolated and focused sun ray. What I still don’t understand is how such kind of ray was formed and where it reached the clouds from (below, above, laterally?).
Anyway, it was something rare and really interesting to see, at least for me!
Thanks for looking!
Aldo
The temperature at ground level is rarely a reflection of the temperature higher in the atmosphere, though. If you take a look, there is a linear brightening below the false sun as well. This is typical of sun pillars. The top seems exceptionally bright, however. Maybe it isn't one, but I'd put my bet on ice crystals.aldomottino wrote:Thanks Geck. The temp in the surface was around 15ºC, that is well over the freezing temp, and from I have learned you need ice cristals in the atmosphere to see a sun pillar. Maybe moisture in the air produces a similar effect? Also, from I can see in the web it is not usual for sun pillars to end in such bright spot. Maybe it was indeed a sun pillar (an atypical one?).