Pillar of alien-like light landing in Canada

The phenomenon of light pillars appears in the town of Blackfalds, Canada originating from the harsh cold air that is covering the area.

Photographer Darlene Tanner took a picture of the pillars of light appearing in the town of Blackfalds, Alberta, Canada, the Washington Post on December 23.(Photo: Darlene Tanner).

Many people commented that this scene was like an alien landing on the town. However, the light column is actually an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere, which occurs when light is reflected from small ice crystals suspended in the air.(Photo: NWS Aberdeen).

Light source comes from the Sun, Moon or street light.This phenomenon can be observed at many times of the day.(Photo: Aaron White).

The color and size of the light column helps provide information about the atmosphere and surroundings.If the pillar is colorful, it proves to be created by artificial light, that is, a city nearby.In addition, the height of the light column shows the position of the ice crystals being elevated or hovering near the ground.(Photo: Janet Ng).

This phenomenon mainly occurs in the Arctic and Antarctic regions because the light column needs cold and dense air with mainly ice crystal components to form.(Photo: Darlene Tanner).

However, it recently appeared in southern Canada and the state of Minnesota, USA by a harsh cold air coming from Siberia covering the area.Siberia is one of the coldest places in the world.(Photo: Dave Patrick).