Thick smoke rises during an eruption from Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano, as seen from Tunggularum village in Sleman on March 11, 2023. (Photo by Devi Rahman/AFP Photo)

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 shot of Pu'uo crater, the main source of lava from Kilauea, taken from a helicopter in Kilaura, Hawaii. (Photo by Kirk Aeder/Barcroft Media)

Kaitlin, 28, from the United States is suspended from hooks pierced through her skin by the professional body artist Dino Helvida in Zagreb, Croatia June 7, 2016. (Photo by Antonio Bronic/Reuters)

German model Micaela Schaefer (2nd from Left) and German actor Yvonne Woelke (2nd from right) sighted during Oktoberfest at Theresienwiese on September 21, 2014 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Chad Buchanan/Getty Images)

A woman cools off from the extreme heat from an opened fire hydrant in Brooklyn, New York on July 2, 2018. The highest temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius in New York City on Monday as a result of a prolonged heat wave. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Ivan, a tourist from Russia, takes a selfie at Mai Khao Beach as a plane takes off from Phuket International Airport in Phuket, Thailand, January 17, 2022. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A child looks out from a bus window after fleeing from Ukraine to Romania, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Siret, Romania, March 13, 2022. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)