Sunset in the sky

As the days get longer and the sun travels more to the north, it gives a wonderful scenery in the sky.

Then I started noticing that just before and after sunset, there is this faint sun pillar in the sky.

A sun pillar is a vertical column of light that appears above or below the sun, creating a stunning visual effect. It occurs when sunlight interacts with ice crystals in the atmosphere, typically from high-altitude cirrus clouds. Here’s how it works:

Ice Crystals: When the sun is low on the horizon (such as during sunrise or sunset), its light passes through a layer of hexagonal ice crystals. These crystals can be found in thin, wispy clouds.

Light Refraction: As sunlight enters the ice crystals, it refracts (bends) and splits into different colors. The hexagonal shape of the crystals causes the light to spread out vertically.

Pillar Formation: The refracted light rays bounce off the bottom faces of the ice crystals and create a vertical column of light. This column appears as a bright pillar extending upward or downward from the sun.

Colorful Display: Sun pillars can exhibit various colors, including red, orange, pink, and purple. The specific colors depend on the angle of the sun, the size of the ice crystals, and atmospheric conditions.

Sunset and Sunrise: Sun pillars are most commonly seen just before sunset or just after sunrise when the sun is near the horizon. The low angle allows the light to pass through more ice crystals, enhancing the effect.

Remember, these beautiful phenomena are temporary and can vanish quickly as the sun moves. So if you ever spot a sun pillar, take a moment to appreciate its natural wonder!

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

Driving in Twilight

Today was my "first" drive from my new house to work. As I left from home the sun was about to rise above horizon. The stage of sunrise known as false sunrise actually occurs before the Sun truly reaches the horizon because Earth's atmosphere refracts the Sun's image. At the horizon, the average amount of refraction is 34 arcminutes, though this amount varies based on atmospheric conditions.

Also, unlike most other solar measurements, sunrise occurs when the Sun's upper limb, rather than its center, appears to cross the horizon. The apparent radius of the Sun at the horizon is 16 arcminutes.

These two angles combine to define sunrise to occur when the Sun's center is 50 arcminutes below the horizon, or 90.83° from the zenith.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Loimaa, mostly Finnish

Sun pillars

Sun pillars are beams of light that extend upward from the sun. Pillar itself is atmospheric optical phenomenon which is created by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are suspeneded in the atmosphere or that comprise high-altitude clouds.

This was taken in mid February 2022, in Loimaa.

I got there just at the right time! Sun pilar had just aligned with the road and I got out of my car and took this.

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Loimaa, mostly Finnish