The Pillars of Light
On the coldest nights, columns of coloured light rise straight up from the ground into the sky, as if something were landing.
What was reported
On very cold, still winter nights in Canada, Scandinavia, Russia and the northern United States, people sometimes see tall, glowing columns of light standing in the sky above a town, in white, orange, green or red. They seem to rise from the ground and can look solid.
Photos of them are often shared online as UFOs, beams from spaceships, or evidence of strange experiments.
Explanations offered
Light pillars are made when flat, six-sided ice crystals float almost horizontally in very cold air near the ground. Each crystal acts like a tiny mirror, reflecting light from streetlights, car headlights or stadiums. Together, millions of them stretch each light into a tall column. They're the same as the pillars sometimes seen above the setting Sun.
- When
- Seen on the coldest winter nights
- Where
- Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
- Witnesses
- Residents of cold northern towns
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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