Slovakian Sebastián managed to capture an unusual phenomenon in the east of Slovakia in mid-December. As he stated for the website, he photographed this heavenly theater from Šuňava (Poprad district) in the early hours of the morning when he went to school by car. “I noticed faint lines of light. I was surprised, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. But then I got a better view and noticed pillars of light.” described.
According to the young man, this natural phenomenon lasted about 10 minutes. After it was published, at first people thought it was a creation of artificial intelligence, but the unusual phenomenon has a logical explanation. These are light poles, which are very rare in our region, and Sebastian was incredibly lucky to see them with his own eyes.
“Pillars of light are a rare atmospheric phenomenon which it arises in winter under precise conditions. There are tiny ice crystals in the air that reflect light and create vertical light rays. According to astronomer Ján Svoreň (SAV Astronomical Institute), this is an indoor phenomenon,” the iMeteo.sk portal put things into perspective.
“The source of light can be the Sun, the Moon, but also street lamps or illuminated buildings. The key is the combination of frost and fog – then the ice crystals can sink to the ground. In the Nordic countries they are common, here it is an exceptional phenomenon,” he adds.
