A light pillar is a visual phenomenon created by the reflection of light from ice crystals with near horizontal parallel planar surfaces. The light can come from the Sun (usually at or low to the horizon) in which case the phenomenon is called a sun pillar or solar pillar. It can also come from the Moon or from terrestrial sources such as streetlights.

A military band playing during the Immortal Regiment march in Vladivostok, Russia on May 9, 2016. The celebrations marked the 71st anniversary of the defeat of Germany in WWII. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS/Getty Images)

Model Daisy Lowe presents a creation at the Katie Eary catwalk show during London Fashion Week Men's 2017 in London, Britain January 7, 2017. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

A participant takes part in donkey racing, during the 21st edition of annual Lamu Cultural Festival, in Lamu, Kenya, Saturday December 2, 2023. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

A woman poses for a photo shoot with the blossom flowers decorated at Ritan Park during the Spring season in Beijing, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

A demonstrator dances as riot police try to prevent LGBT rights activists gather for a Pride parade, which was banned by local authorities, in central in Istanbul, Turkey on June 26, 2021. (Photo by Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)

Tahiti, French Polynesia, June 5, 2016: Surfer Courtney Conlogue. ESPN The Magazine's The Body Issue set out seven years ago with one mission: to celebrate and explore the athletic form through powerful images and interviews. The cornerstone of each annual issue is The Bodies We Want photo portfolio, which features roughly 20 of the world's most elite athletes posing nude. (Photo by Steven Lippman for ESPN The Magazine Body Issue)

A girl carries a picture of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed along with others in Saudi Arabia, during a protest against the execution in front of the United Nation's building in Beirut, Lebanon January 3, 2016. Sign reads, “The martyr scholar Nimr al-Nimr”. (Photo by Hasan Shaaban/Reuters)