Seattle Sun Pillar

Contributed by: Michael Miller

This golden Sun pillar, complementing nicely the tangerine colored predawn sky, was taken on August 22, 2008, overlooking Seattle, Washington. Pillars result from refraction and reflection of sunlight off of hexagonal, plate-shaped ice crystals in clouds positioned above or below the Sun. Sunlight is refracted through the underside of the crystal and then reflected off of the upper-side before exiting the way it entered, through the crystal's underside.

Photo details: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT; Exposure time: 0.0167; F number: 5.6; ISO speed rating: 400; Lens focal length: 55