Today's Image

Late April sun pillar

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April 30, 2016

View larger. | Photo credit; Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson shared his photo with us. Jesse wrote:

Talk about a ray of sunshine. I was near Sentinel Peak [southwest of Tucson, Arizona] when the sun was about to set, and decided to take a brief detour before the end of my day. It was a cloudy evening but the horizon was clear, so I knew it had to be promising. I took the chance, and I was fortunate to have a rare sighting of a sun pillar!

Sun pillars, or light pillars, are shafts of light extending from the sun or other bright light source. They’re caused by ice crystals drifting in Earth’s air. More info (and pics!) here.

Here’s another April 2016 sun pillar. This one was taken in southwest England by Jacquie Russell.

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April 30, 2016

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Today's Image

Eleanor Imster

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About the Author:

Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.