March 13, 2001
The stars above are ancient, but your chance to be here is exquisitely temporary.
A Sun Pillar
Birthday · March 13, 2001
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published March 13, 2001. Credit: Stan Richard. 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, stop-sign 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, a sun-pillar reflects light from a setting Sun.
Image credit: Stan Richard