December 15, 2008
The same gravity that holds galaxies together and keeps planets in their orbits also held you to the Earth on the day you were born.
A Sun Pillar Over North Carolina
Birthday · December 15, 2008
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APOD published December 15, 2008. Credit: Terry Holdsclaw. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Have you ever seen a sun pillar? When the air is cold and the Sun is rising or setting, falling ice crystals can reflect sunlight and create an unusual column of light. Ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided shaped crystals as it falls from high-level clouds. Air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground. Sunlight reflects off crystals that are properly aligned, creating the sun-pillar effect. In the above picture taken in 2007 January, a sun-pillar reflects light from a Sun setting over Lake Norman, North Carolina, USA. Note : APOD Editor to Speak in New York on Jan. 2
Image credit: Terry Holdsclaw