Stoney Creek Park Pillar

December 21, 2005

Sunpillar0056 copy

Provided and copyright by: Gerald Rodgers
Summary authors & editors: Gerald Rodgers; Jim Foster

The inspiring Sun pillar pictured above was taken just after sunset on November 25, 2005 from Stoney Creek Park, Michigan. The width of a pillar is a function of the extent to which the crystals wobble about their vertical axis and is unrelated to the size of the crystal. The ice crystals responsible for producing pillars may be found in thin cirrus clouds or, on occasion, float freely in the lower atmosphere. See also yesterday's Earth Science Picture of the Day.

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