Sun pillar or optical effect?

[Ramona Edwards]

Forgive me for posting three times in a row, but I just renewed my membership since I am on vacation in Oklahoma, where the skies are wide open! I was photographing the sunrise this morning and saw something I was unfamiliar with.  As the sun was coming up over a cloud bank on the horizon there was a layer of much thinner clouds on top of the cloud bank that became visible.  It may have been there all along, but the rising sun just made it more apparent.  Then, as the sun came up it appeared that there was a sun pillar above and sometimes below the rising sun!  I am no expert and I question whether this was an optical phenomenon from my camera, but I did notice that in the NUMEROUS photos I took from slightly different angles, the “pillar” appeared to look the same.  How can I tell which it was? (Note – I am pretty sure that the red circle to the upper right of the sun is an optical effect, as it was not in all of the photos.) I am including black and white photos for contrast.  Color photos are underexposed to show deeper colors in the sunrise.

Thanks!
Ramona

[Hans Stocker]

Hello Ramona, I think you are right that these are sun pillars. Upper and lower as well. You saw them with the naked eye and you have them on several images. You can be sure in my opinion. Very nice.

The red dot right above the sun is a bit of a puzzle. It is surely there so what can it be? Sun flare? It does not look like sun flare to me with this shape. Maybe this is a part of the corona caused by aerosols at that particular place above the sun. It might not be on each image because the areosols were on the move. Any other opinions?

[Ramona Edwards]

Thanks on this one, too, Hans!  I went back and edited and studied the MANY photos I have of this and came to the same conclusion.  The pillars were there from different angles and over a relatively long period of time.  It was fun looking through the photos and seeing how a small area of lighter clouds appeared just over the cloud bank before the sun came up.  I believe I saw the beginnings of the sun pillar in those clouds and watched it until the sun was fully risen.  Fun stuff!
Blessings,

Ramona

[Author]

Posts